{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T18:05:18Z","timestamp":1789495518716,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100001125","name":"GAVI Alliance","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["#HSIS12764423"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["#HSIS12764423"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100001125","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosglobalpublichealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Glob Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Logistics management information systems (LMIS) strengthen health commodity distribution and decision-making. Nigeria introduced OpenLMIS, an electronic LMIS, in August 2021 to track COVID-19 vaccines, and a routine immunisation (RI) module was deployed nationwide in 2023. This evaluation examined enablers and barriers to effective implementation and sustained use. A qualitative design combined desk reviews of LMIS documents, 42 key informants interviews, and 16 structured observational assessments with Cold Chain Officers. Data collection occurred in three states, the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, and Niger, and nine Local Government Areas (LGA; three per state), which were purposively selected to capture diverse operational contexts. OpenLMIS has been rolled out across all 835 Nigerian cold stores at the zonal, state, and LGA levels. Adoption was driven by strong government stewardship (through policy prioritisation, allocation of personnel, and facilitation of site access), particularly the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and consistent financial and technical support from partners, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and UNICEF. Persisting challenges include high staff turnover disrupting continuity; limited user training, often online-only, and insufficient where connectivity is poor; unreliable power and internet are hindering timely data entry and access; and inadequate, unsustained funding for data bundles, which shifts costs to users and undermines utilisation and data quality. OpenLMIS is advancing digitisation and visibility of Nigeria\u2019s immunisation supply chain for informed decision-making. However, qualitative evidence from national stakeholders and the 3 sampled, states indicate that to maximise its benefits, stakeholders should address individual-level disincentives (e.g., turnover, training gaps), invest in reliable power and connectivity, and ensure sustainable financing for data and system operations alongside continued improvement in functionality.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0005581","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T17:38:22Z","timestamp":1789493902000},"page":"e0005581","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Enablers and barriers to implementing a digital logistics system: A qualitative evaluation of OpenLMIS for Nigeria\u2019s vaccine supply chain"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8807-1190","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ifeoluwa Adebola","family":"Noiki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"BroadImpact","place":["Abuja, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-5639-4335","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lola","family":"Aladesanmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BroadImpact","place":["Abuja, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9931-7662","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Suruchi","family":"Gupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health","place":["Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America"],"department":["Department of International Health"]},{"name":"Centre for Global Digital Health Innovation","place":["Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1034-0549","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Patricia","family":"Mechael","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HealthEnabled","place":["Capetown, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Erica","family":"Layer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HealthEnabled","place":["Capetown, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Smisha","family":"Agarwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health","place":["Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America"],"department":["Department of International Health"]},{"name":"Centre for Global Digital Health Innovation","place":["Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9073-3376","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dustin","family":"Gibson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health","place":["Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America"],"department":["Department of International Health"]},{"name":"Centre for Global Digital Health Innovation","place":["Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pgph.0005581.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1186\/s40545-023-00517-4","article-title":"Leveraging electronic logistics management information systems to enhance and optimize supply chain response during public health emergencies: lessons from COVID-19 response in Uganda","volume":"16","author":"JH Wasswa","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Pharm Policy Pract"},{"issue":"17","key":"pgph.0005581.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2121","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vaccine.2016.12.071","article-title":"Vaccine stockouts around the world: Are essential vaccines always available when needed?","volume":"35","author":"P Lydon","year":"2017","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"issue":"3","key":"pgph.0005581.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"562","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vaccine.2019.10.059","article-title":"The impact of an integrated electronic immunization registry and logistics management information system (EIR-eLMIS) on vaccine availability in three regions in Tanzania: A pre-post and time-series analysis","volume":"38","author":"SS Gilbert","year":"2020","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"issue":"8","key":"pgph.0005581.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1003","DOI":"10.1111\/tmi.12525","article-title":"Evidence on feasibility and effective use of mHealth strategies by frontline health workers in developing countries: systematic review","volume":"20","author":"S Agarwal","year":"2015","journal-title":"Trop Med Int Health"},{"issue":"17","key":"pgph.0005581.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2167","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vaccine.2016.11.068","article-title":"Chains in Nigeria. Vaccine","volume":"35","author":"D Sarley","year":"2017","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4103\/njcp.njcp_561_22","article-title":"Digital Technology Tool for Routine Immunization: Lessons Learned from Open Data Kit Intervention and Way Forward","volume":"26","author":"G Ugwu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nigerian J Clinical Practice"},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref007","unstructured":"Gavi, The Global Fund. Qualified software solutions for logistics management information systems (LMIS): Country guidance on selecting LMIS. 2025. https:\/\/www.gavi.org\/news\/document-library\/country-guidance-selecting-logistics-management-information-systems"},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref008","unstructured":"OpenLMIS. How OpenLMIS in Nigeria helped save 850,000 vaccine doses from expiry. https:\/\/openlmis.org\/how-openlmis-in-nigeria-helped-save-850000-vaccine-doses-from-expiry\/ 2025. Accessed 2025 October 14."},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref009","first-page":"204","volume-title":"Analysis in Qualitative Research","author":"H Boeije","year":"2010","edition":"1"},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1014375","DOI":"10.3389\/fdgth.2022.1014375","article-title":"Barriers and facilitators for the sustainability of digital health interventions in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review","volume":"4","author":"SS Kabor\u00e9","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Digit Health"},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127066","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vaccine.2025.127066","article-title":"Impact of electronic immunization registries and electronic logistics management information systems in four low-and middle-income countries: Guinea, Honduras, Rwanda, and Tanzania","volume":"54","author":"C Mantel","year":"2025","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"issue":"5","key":"pgph.0005581.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1029","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.23-0622","article-title":"Perspectives on the performance of the Ethiopian vaccine supply chain and logistics system after the last mile delivery initiative: a phenomenological study","volume":"110","author":"S Gebremedhin","year":"2024","journal-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg"},{"issue":"1","key":"pgph.0005581.ref013","article-title":"25 years of digital health toward universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries: rapid systematic review","volume":"27","author":"B Sylla","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"},{"key":"pgph.0005581.ref014","article-title":"Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of the use of digital health technologies in primary health care in the Sub-Saharan African Region: qualitative study","volume":"25","author":"N O\u2019Brien","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Med Internet Res"}],"container-title":["PLOS Global Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.0005581","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T17:38:27Z","timestamp":1789493907000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.0005581"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Julia","family":"Robinson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"PLOS: Public Library of Science","place":["UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"references-count":14,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.0005581","relation":{},"ISSN":["2767-3375"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2767-3375","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]}}}