The PAI as a public health programme
- System and programme
Colombia's Expanded Programme on Immunisation runs free vaccination: purchasing, cold chain, records, surveillance and coverage targets.
What it is
The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (PAI) is the Ministry of Health programme that aims to eradicate, eliminate and control vaccine-preventable diseases. It is funded by the national budget, the General System of Transfers and the SGSSS, and carried out by territorial entities, EPS and vaccinating IPS. Its management is organised in components (planning, cold chain, supplies, information system, surveillance, evaluation, among others) and its central target is coverage of 95% or more with each vaccine in every municipality.
How it is organised
- National level (Ministry of Health): sets the schedule and guidelines, buys the vaccines and distributes them to departments.
- Departments and districts: storage centres, technical support, supervision and coverage evaluation.
- Municipalities, EPS and IPS: vaccinate, record each dose in the named information system and follow up the cohort of live births.
- Surveillance: vaccine-preventable events and adverse events following immunisation, notified to SIVIGILA.
Worked example
- A made-up municipality has 1,200 children in the one-year-old cohort, according to registered live births.
- At year end, 1,104 had the dose due at that age: coverage = 1,104 / 1,200 × 100 = 92%.
- The target is 95%: 0.95 × 1,200 = 1,140 children must be vaccinated, that is, 36 more.
- Child-by-child follow-up finds the 96 unvaccinated children; 40 live in 2 remote rural areas.
- An outreach day with cold-chain cool boxes vaccinates 45: new coverage = 1,149 / 1,200 = 95.75%, about 95.8%.
- Reading: a departmental average can hide pockets of low coverage; the target is measured municipality by municipality.
PAI components with an example of what they do
| Component | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Planning and programming | Targets per municipality according to the target population |
| Cold chain | Storing and moving vaccines at the right temperature from the national store to the vaccination point |
| Supplies | Vaccines, syringes and other items, with their inventory |
| Information system | Named record of every dose given |
| Public health surveillance | Vaccine-preventable events and adverse events following immunisation |
| Evaluation | Coverage, rapid coverage monitoring and cohort follow-up |
Markers
- PAI
- Coverage
- 95%
- Cold chain
- Cohort
- AEFI
In practice
- Every contact with health services is a chance to check the vaccination card and complete the schedule; a missed opportunity lowers coverage.
- High, even coverage sustains herd immunity and the elimination of measles and rubella.
Reference norms
- Ministry of Health guidelines for the management and administration of the PAI (published every year).
- PAI technical and administrative manual.
- INS protocols for vaccine-preventable events and adverse events following immunisation.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What is the ultimate aim of the PAI?
To eradicate, eliminate and control vaccine-preventable diseases.
What coverage target does the PAI set?
Coverage of 95% or more with each vaccine in the schedule in the target population, evenly in every territorial entity.
870 of 1,000 children in the cohort were vaccinated. What is the coverage and how many more are needed for the target?
870 / 1,000 = 87%; reaching 95% needs 950, so 80 more children.
Why is even coverage required, not just a good national average?
Because municipalities or neighbourhoods with low coverage build up susceptible people, where an imported virus can cause an outbreak.
Elsewhere in DurgiPedia
- Colombia's PAI schedule (which vaccines, at what age)
- The cold chain
- Herd immunity and outbreak control
- Events after vaccination (ESAVI) and how they are reported
Connections
Educational content on epidemiological and statistical methods; the examples use made-up numbers to teach the calculation. Not a clinical or legal guide: current Colombian rules are in the official sources.
Sources: Lineamientos para la gestión y administración del Programa Ampliado de Inmunizaciones - PAI - 2022 (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2022); La cadena de frío del Programa Ampliado de Inmunizaciones - PAI (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social de Colombia (PAI), 2026).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.