Gavi features, 2016

Five years ago the Côte d’Ivoire was hit by a civil war that claimed thousands of lives and ravaged the nation’s healthcare system. Today, immunisation coverage is almost back up to its pre-war level. How has the country turned round its immunisation rates so quickly?

West African country recognises Vaccine Alliance role in helping country’s immunisation system recover from five-year war.

By Anuradha Gupta, Deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

At Kathmandu’s Patan hospital, Gavi is funding impact studies on two vaccines that protect children against the main causes of deadly pneumonia: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcal disease. Three doctors who are leading these studies identify four ways in which Patan’s pioneering research is shaping Nepal’s immunisation policy.

Campaign to reach 800,000 people with Gavi-supported vaccines in Grand’Anse and Sud.

Today marks World Polio Day, when the global community celebrates the immense progress and considers the work ahead to ensure no child suffers from polio ever again.

Up to 150 emergency medical drone flights a day.

New Strategic Training Executive Programme opens at Benin’s LOGIVAC+ Centre, 12 months after similar course offered in Rwanda

To date, immunisation against human papillomavirus (HPV), which helps prevent cervical cancer, has largely been conducted through school-based campaigns. But what about those who do not go to school? How do we reach communities where there is low school attendance? A new, more community- orientated approach being tested in Bong County, Liberia, may provide the answer to these questions.

United Parcel Service (UPS), a global logistics company whose business it is to deliver packages to the far flung corners of the world, offers some potentially life- saving lessons to immunisation supply chain managers in developing countries.

A week at the United Nations General Assembly is a long time in global health, especially for Gavi. The annual New York event brings together most members of the Vaccine Alliance - UN agencies, donor governments, implementing countries, businesses, philanthropies and civil society - and this diary records Gavi’s day-by-day efforts to strengthen collaboration and build new partnerships.

Organisation, which takes human rights-based approach to delivering health care, recognises Gavi CEO at its annual Health & Human Rights Awards Dinner.

Philips and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, are teaming up to improve the quality of immunisation data and its collection in primary and community healthcare, with Uganda as a test ground.

Dr Osama Mere was born in Damascus and graduated from medical college at Damascus University in 1990. For five years, he served as head of Child Health and the national manager of the Extended Programme for Immunization (EPI) in Syria. In 2015, he became the acting country representative in Yemen for WHO. We talked to him about how Gavi has adapted its health system strengthening to ensure vaccines are still being delivered despite Yemen’s ongoing conflict.

Gavi CEO publishes opinion piece in Wall Street Journal on eve of UN General Assembly.

With more than half of Gavi-supported countries officially listed as fragile states, Gavi is increasingly working on several fronts to ensure vaccines still reach people living on the frontlines of humanitarian crises.

Emmanuel Lasanah, outpatient supervisor at Monrovia’s Redemption Hospital, became one of the lead contact tracers during the recent Ebola outbreak, tracking down more than 900 potentially infected people. Given his high-risk status, he was also the first person in Liberia to receive the new vaccine against Ebola.

Comedy fundraiser helps advance Gavi’s mission to make vaccines available, save lives.

Gavi’s Alan Brooks explains how the launch of a new Centre of Excellence for vaccines, immunisation and health supply chain management in Rwanda will drive the modernisation of immunisation supply chains across East Africa.

Gavi’s Deputy CEO Anuradha Gupta reflects on gender-related barriers to immunisation in Pakistan

First-ever Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa delivers concludes with signed declaration to promote the use of vaccines across the African continent.

Former Tanzanian President delivers keynote address to ‘Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa’.

Joint press release first published by WHO and PATH, joint founders of the Meningitis Vaccine Project.

Johns Hopkins University study shows 16-fold return on investment in immunisation from 2011 to 2020

Gavi CEO attends final of 2016 African Nations football championship to support launch of ‘Every Shot Counts’.

Organization of African First Ladies ask African countries to finish unfinished business

Former Tanzanian President announces his commitment to “the health of the African continent”