China
Mapping Vulnerability and Vaccination Gaps in the Western Pacific Region
Relative Deprivation Index
Project Context
In collaboration with the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO WPRO), EPCON supported efforts to uncover health disparities in Australia, Brunei, China, Fiji, Micronesia, Japan, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Tuvalu, Samoa, New Zealand, Vietnam, Philippines, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong, Palau, Macao, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Wallis and Futuna Islands. Despite important progress in health system development, many low- and middle-income countries in the region still face challenges in understanding and responding to health vulnerabilities at a granular level. This project was launched to generate high-resolution insights that could guide targeted interventions and health equity efforts across the country.
Project Objectives
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Map population vulnerability by assessing physical, social, economic, and environmental risk factors
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Estimate life expectancy at birth using subnational-level data
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Evaluate and model vaccination coverage among children aged 12 to 23 months
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Provide actionable, subnational insights to support strategic planning and resource allocation by Ministries of Health and development partners
EPCON's Approach
EPCON developed high-resolution models combining contextual data such as age demographics, access to water and sanitation, healthcare travel time, child malnutrition, and night-time light intensity. In countries with limited health data availability, we grouped data across neighboring countries to enhance model learning while accounting for regional nuances. The outputs were visualized through a custom-built geoportal and shared with key stakeholders for policy use.
Key Outcomes and Impact
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Generated subnational maps of vulnerability, life expectancy, and childhood vaccination coverage
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Enables policymakers to detect high-risk zones that may be overlooked in national-level analyses
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Can enable improved targeting of outreach efforts, particularly in areas with large numbers of zero-dose children
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Created a reusable and scalable framework for country-level health equity mapping in LMICs
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Helped WHO WPRO drive regional strategy development based on empirical, high-resolution data
Partners and Collaborations
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World Health Organization – Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO WPRO)
