Preparation of Recommendations & Decision‑Making

Organisation of Working Groups

For agenda topics requiring decisions, the Chair tasks one or more Working Groups (WGs) to review evidence and prepare a technical report. WGs are time‑bound, chaired by a core member, supported by the secretariat, and may include external experts. COI and confidentiality rules apply to all WG participants.

Development of Technical Reports

WGs define a recommendation framework and research questions. For efficacy, effectiveness, or safety questions, a PICO approach is used. Evidence is sourced (including grey literature), collected (favoring recent reviews), the search process documented, and quality assessed (e.g., GRADE, AMSTAR, CASP, SIGN). Evidence is analyzed for benefits/harms, confidence in estimates, resources, programmatic issues, and other criteria. Technical reports include an executive summary, introduction, context, methods, analysis, options, conclusions, references, and annexes.

Presentation/Discussion

Reports are circulated two weeks before meetings. Core members deliberate and reach consensus; the WG Chair drafts a recommendation note for Chair approval and signature by attending core members. Approved reports are submitted via Rwanda EPI and may be disseminated publicly after six months with appropriate caution for confidential data.

Submission to Authorities

Signed recommendations are forwarded within two weeks via Rwanda EPI. The secretariat tracks submissions and actions taken by MOH and reports back to NITAG.

Ethics

Members are bound to confidentiality and precautionary principles. Only the Chair (or delegate) communicates externally on behalf of NITAG.

Appendix 2 – Recommendation Framework (Summary)

Six broad areas are considered: (1) Disease; (2) Vaccine & immunization characteristics; (3) Vaccine intervention outcomes (safety, efficacy, effectiveness); (4) Economic considerations; (5) Health policy & programmatic issues; (6) Acceptability & equity. Critical and important elements should be systematically reviewed.

PICO approach

Population; Intervention; Comparator; Outcome – used to frame research questions, especially for efficacy, effectiveness, and safety.

Operations and Procedures

Drawing Up Work Plans

RWANDA‑NITAG develops an annual work plan prior to each fiscal year aligned to national and global immunization strategies. The Secretariat drafts the plan within two weeks after the last meeting of the previous year; core members adopt it at the first meeting of the new fiscal year. Reviews may occur semi‑annually informed by monitoring reports.

Monitoring & Evaluation Framework

The work plan is supported by an M&E plan with indicators to monitor inputs, processes, outputs, outcomes and impact. Process indicators include COI declarations, timely distribution of agendas and materials, number of meetings held (with minutes), and number of recommendations provided to MOH. Quarterly monitoring reports and a second‑year external review are planned.

Meetings

Quarterly meetings are tentatively scheduled annually. Invitations (sent at least two weeks prior) specify participants, agenda, and minutes of the previous meeting. A quorum is 50% of core members in physical attendance. Up to two extraordinary meetings per year may be called for urgent matters. Documents should be shared at least two weeks in advance. The Chair coordinates discussions and calls votes when needed (simple majority; Chair votes only to break ties).

Meeting Minutes and Reports

Minutes are circulated within one week for comments and finalized the second week for Chair approval. Minutes remain confidential; reports are not disclosed for six months to allow MOH review and action. A members‑only website area provides access to confidential documents.

Governance

Mandate & Terms of Reference

RWANDA‑NITAG advises MOH/RBC on immunization policy, including new vaccine introductions, safety/quality, and surveillance.

Roles & Duties

Core members: participate and vote; may chair WGs.
Ex‑officio & liaison members: participate without voting; convey institutional perspectives.
Secretariat (EPI): organizes meetings, prepares agendas/minutes/reports, coordinates WGs, archives documents, prepares annual reports, and maintains the website.
Chairperson: leads deliberations, official communications, and work planning; monitors member performance.

Appointment & Terms

MOH appoints core members and the Chair/Co‑Chair. Terms are five years with one possible renewal; staggered renewal after two terms maintains continuity. Non‑core members are nominated by their institutions without term limits.

Organisational Structure

Core members (Chair & Co‑Chair), ex‑officio members, liaison members, and the Secretariat hosted by the EPI Unit.

Overview

Definition

National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG): an independent expert advisory committee established by a country’s Ministry of Health to provide evidence‑based recommendations on immunization policies and strategies. NITAGs guide national decisions on vaccine introduction, schedules, and prioritization, ensuring programs are effective, safe, and tailored to the country’s needs.

Evaluating scientific evidence on vaccines
Advising on national immunization schedules
Recommending new vaccines or changes to existing programs
Supporting public health policy through expert guidance

The Rwanda NITAG was established by the Ministry of Health in December 2017 to provide recommendations on vaccine policy in line with national strategies. It is a body of national experts advising on all technical and scientific topics related to vaccines and immunization. Decisions are evidence‑based and independent of political and industry influence. The secretariat is hosted by the Expanded Programme on Immunization.

Appointment of Chair, Co‑Chair, Advisors and Members

Rwanda NITAG includes core members (independent experts serving in their individual capacity) and non‑core members (ex‑officio and liaison representatives). Only core members vote on recommendations. The Ministry of Health appoints core members and the Chair/Co‑Chair; terms are five years with one renewal.

Terms of Reference of Members

RWANDA‑NITAG provides evidence‑based advice to MOH/RBC on:

Immunization policies and strategies
Introduction of new vaccines and technologies
Safety and quality of vaccines and VPD surveillance
Any topics concerning vaccines and vaccination in general

Roles and Duties

Core members actively participate in meetings and working groups; only core members vote. Ex‑officio and liaison members contribute perspectives but do not vote. The secretariat (hosted by EPI) organizes meetings, prepares agendas and reports, manages documentation, coordinates working groups, prepares annual technical and financial reports, and maintains the website. The Chair leads deliberations and work planning and communicates with authorities and the public.

Term of Office

Core members serve an initial five‑year term; renewal for a second five‑year term is possible. Provisions exist for replacement due to non‑participation or resignation. Post second term, staggered renewal applies to maintain continuity. Non‑core members have no term limits and are nominated by their institutions.

Conflict of Interest and Bias

Members declare interests at each meeting and sign a COI form; confidentiality agreements apply during service and for five years thereafter. Specific information from other institutions may require information‑specific confidentiality agreements.

Sexual activity with a child (under the age of 18)

Dr. Francois Uwinkindi is the Division Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases Division.

He is a Medical Doctor with a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology from University of Rwanda.
Dr Francois previously served as the Director of the Cancer Diseases Unit for 4 years from 2015 to 2019, the post he occupied after serving for more than five years in national HIV Control Program with different roles and responsibilities in Prevention, Care & Treatment, Monitoring and Evaluation and Clinical Research.

Prior to joining Rwanda Biomedical Centre, he worked as a medical officer at Byumba district hospital for 2 years.

Dr. Gallican is a Head of National HIV, STIs and Hepatitis Programs since December 2020.He is adept at designing, testing and implementation new initiatives to curb HIV infections and transmissions among high-risk group for more than 5years. He holds a Medical Degree in General Medicine and Surgery from National University of Rwanda and Master’s in Epidemiology from Mount Kenya University.

Prior to this position, Dr. Gallican worked with ICAP at Columbia University as the Project Manager for HIV Case-based Surveillance (CBS), seconded to RBC; Before that, He served as a Senior Study Coordinator for the Rwanda Population based HIV impact Assessment Survey (RPHIA) of 2018-2019. Prior to joining ICAP, he worked as General Practitioner within different rural and urban District and referral Hospitals in Rwanda.

He is an active member of different National and Regional technical working groups on HIV and Viral Hepatitis Programs implementations.

Eng. Annick Ishimwe is the current Division Manager for the Medical Technology Division. She has a Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering and an MSc in Public Health (Global Health) from the University of Southampton. She is a Chevening Alumni and WEF Global shaper.

Noella Bigirimana is the Deputy Director General at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, a national health implementation agency in Rwanda.

Noella previously served as Division Manager of Research, Innovation and Data Science at RBC. She has also served as Precision Medicine Fellow at the World Economic Forum, where she focused on co-designing policy and governance approaches to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies in low-resource settings. Noella has also worked as consultant for WHO and USAID-funded projects in Rwanda and Guinea-Conakry in the post-Ebola period.

Noella currently serves on the Advisory Board of AI Transparency Institute, and also serves as the Advisory Board Chair of the Youth Combating NTDs. She is a World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper in the Kigali Hub, and a contributor at the Future Africa Forum.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology, Health and Society from Cornell University, and a Master’s degree in International Health Policy and Management from the Heller School at Brandeis University.

Dr. Albert TUYISHIME is a Medical Doctor. He holds a master’s degree in clinical Epidemiology from the University of Rwanda.

He serves as the Head of HIV/AIDS, Diseases Prevention and Control Department at Rwanda Biomedical Centre.

For the last 10 years, Dr Albert has worked for Rwanda Biomedical Center, gaining senior-level experience in health programs and systems design, strategic and operational planning, development of Monitoring and Evaluation frameworks for health programs, methods and models for impact and cost analysis as well as development of frameworks and conducive environment for business projects in Health sector.

Dr Albert has also managed the implementation of the Rwanda Health Information Systems (RHIS), including fostering innovation, projects planning, organizing and negotiating the allocation of resources to ensure access to quality health information systems and data.

Prof. Claude Mambo MUVUNYI is the Director General of Rwanda Biomedical Centre. He has more than 10 years of technical, managerial, and strategic experience and expertise in the field of clinical and public laboratory medicine with special focus on clinical microbiology, laboratory systems and service strengthening, and global health security.

Prof. Claude Mambo MUVUNYI is currently a full professor of clinical Microbiology and Laboratory Medicine. He holds a degree in general medicine from the university of Rwanda, a specialization and a PhD in Clinical Microbiology from the University of Ghent, Belgium. He also holds a master’s in medical Virology from the University of Manchester.

Prior to joining the RBC, Prof. Claude Mambo MUVUNYI was a Senior Regional Laboratory Advisor at ICAP at Columbia University, providing technical and strategic leadership support to the Laboratory program/project in building quality assured diagnostic capacities at all levels in the network (public and private health laboratories) of countries in Africa, South and Central Asia, and central America. He has also been a senior consultant for World Health Organization (WHO) supporting WHO’s programs for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) surveillance and diagnostic capacity building in African countries. He has been the Head of National reference Laboratory, and the Director of Microbiology unit as well as a study physician for AIDS Vaccine clinical and feasibility research at Project San Francisco.

He has published papers in several international and regional peer-reviewed journals and has made numerous presentations in international conferences. His research interests include evaluation of diagnostic methods (molecular and serological) for infectious diseases and operational research on diagnostic implementation and scale up, and to assess the impact of the new diagnostic for infectious diseases.

Mr Theo Principe UWAYO, ACCA, CPA (R) is the Chief Finance Officer at RBC since 5 February 2022. He joined RBC from 14 April 2021 serving as the Deputy Director General of RBC. Before then, He has had extensive experience in public sector accounting and auditing, whereby he participated actively in audits of Government Budget Agencies and Government Business Enterprises for fifteen years

He studied at Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management, currently University of Rwanda- College of Science and Technology where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree (BBA) in Accounting. He completed his ACCA professional accountancy qualification and He is a member in good standing for both Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Rwanda (ICPAR) Rwanda.

Before joining RBC, He worked at the Office of the Auditor General of State Finances where he occupied various posts. He joined RBC while he was working as Director of Audit, whereby his work included overall management of the Department including but not limited to supervision of various audit teams and handling departmental administrative issues as the Head of the Department.

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Preparation of Recommendations & Decision‑Making

Organisation of Working Groups

Development of Technical Reports

Presentation/Discussion

Submission to Authorities

Ethics

Appendix 2 – Recommendation Framework (Summary)

PICO approach

Operations and Procedures

Drawing Up Work Plans

Monitoring & Evaluation Framework

Meetings

Meeting Minutes and Reports

Governance

Mandate & Terms of Reference

Roles & Duties

Appointment & Terms

Organisational Structure

Definition

Appointment of Chair, Co‑Chair, Advisors and Members

Terms of Reference of Members

Roles and Duties

Term of Office

Conflict of Interest and Bias