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Planning an investigation requires a rapid and complete analysis of the context.
The following information is essential:
Geographic and demographic context
- Maps, including administrative and health system boundaries, towns and villages, waterways, main transportation routes and health care facilities
- Demographic data (including age distribution, if possible)
- Climate and seasons
- Administrative organisation of the country and contacts
- Local events: national or religious holidays, market days, large demonstrations
Security context
- Brief history and current situation
- Useable means of communications (telephone network, etc.)
Health context
- Ministry of Health: organisational chart, key people and their contact information
- National response strategy for epidemics (if there is one), immunisation schedule and Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccination coverage, epidemiological trends over the past four years and any vaccination campaigns with vaccination coverage [outbreak response, pre-emptive, intermediate immunisation activities (IIA), and supplementary immunisation activities (SIAs)]
- Surveillance system (case definition, data collection system)
- Epidemiological situation in neighbouring countries
- List of partners involved: UN agencies, bilateral assistance programmes, non-governmental organisations, etc.
- Procurement: local options, procedure for importing medical supplies and vaccines, quality of available products, and storage conditions
- Perception of the disease, of care-seeking behaviours (and any barriers), and of immunisation within the population. Circulating rumours or misinformation about the disease or the vaccines