Building immunisation leadership in Fiji: national ‘training of trainers’ empowers health professionals

In a significant step toward strengthening immunisation systems in the Pacific, the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services has hosted a workshop to ‘train trainers’ in immunisation in collaboration with NCIRS. 

Held in Lautoka, the five-day workshop brought together senior health professionals from across Fiji to enhance their skills in facilitating learning experiences for immunisation providers. 

The workshop was part of the Gavi Middle-Income Country (MIC) project, which aims to expand and diversify learning opportunities for the immunisation workforce.

Strengthening immunisation education in Fiji

Given the geographic challenges in Fiji, where many health workers operate in remote and isolated areas, the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services is committed to bringing training closer to the workplace, targeting training based on immuniser provider needs, and minimising workforce disruption.

To support this, the Gavi project adopts a flexible model for expanding immunization-related learning options that are available to the health workforce.

This was put into practice in the Lautoka workshop and is a part of efforts to promote ongoing learning by offering shorter, more frequent sessions closer to the workplace and strengthening supportive supervision to ensure quality service delivery across the country.

Designing the course structure

A review of global health provider learning has highlighted both successes and challenges that informed the design of this workshop. 

To be effective, trainers need technical expertise and strong communication and teaching skills. Adult learners benefit from flexible, diverse learning modalities – including face-to-face, online, and on-site practical sessions. 

Leveraging technologies like e-learning platforms and mobile apps can expand access, especially in remote areas.

The workshop also aligns with efforts to embed immunisation competencies into job roles, supervision, and ongoing learning, recognising the importance of all involved in immunisation –from frontline health workers to logisticians and pharmacists.

Workshop highlights

The Lautoka workshop emphasised adult learning principles, with participants acquiring skills in interactive training design, delivery of presentations, facilitation of group discussions, and training evaluation. Reflective sessions helped consolidate learning and encouraged participants to consider how they would apply these skills in their own settings.

The workshop also used interactive approaches to cover core immunisation topics such as vaccine safety, cold chain management, vaccine preventable diseases and injection safety.

As Fiji’s immunisation programs evolve to include school-aged children, adolescents and older adults, the workshop also addressed vaccine delivery across the life course, highlighting the need to tailor services to different age groups.

Another key focus was effective communication, an essential skill for addressing vaccine hesitancy, with participants reviewing case studies and practicing strategies for building trust and promoting vaccine uptake through role plays and group activities.

A milestone for immunisation training in the Pacific

Fiji’s updated immunisation training package – consisting of presentations, case studies, teaching tools  and a facilitator manual – is being finalised as part of the ongoing efforts to improve health-worker national training and strengthen immmunisation systems in Fiji.

By empowering national trainers with the knowledge and tools to educate others, the workshop – and the larger MIC project of which it is a part – promotes sustainable capacity-building to align with the World Health Organization’s Immunization Agenda 2030.

NCIRS is proud to support this initiative and remains committed to strengthening immunisation systems across the region.