The earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 caused 1.5 million people to be displaced to temporary camps. The Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population and global immunization partners developed a plan to deliver vaccines to those residing in these camps. A strategy was needed to determine whether the immunization targets set for the campaign were achieved. Following the vaccination campaign, staff from the Ministry of Public Health and Population interviewed convenience samples of households – in specific predetermined locations in each of the camps — regarding receipt of the emergency vaccinations.
Rapid monitoring was implemented in camps located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Camps that housed more than 5000 people were monitored first. By the end of March 2010, 72 (23%) of the 310 vaccinated camps had been monitored. Rapid monitoring was only marginally beneficial in achieving immunization targets in the temporary camps in Port-au-Prince.