Gavi

8th March now serves as the UK’s official moment to pause and reflect on the 230,000 lives lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet with it comes a difficult question: how do we commemorate a crisis that hasn't truly ended? The full analysis via The Conversation UK: bit.ly/4ukMSYD

Imagine a mother who must choose between a day’s wages and a long journey to a distant clinic. Gavi’s CEO Dr Sania Nishtar argues that integrating services like nutrition and vaccination into a single visit is a vital step toward gender equity.

How we’re simplifying the journey: bit.ly/40riNJg

More evidence proves the HPV vaccine is beating cervical cancer worldwide By Pascal Barollier TOP THREE 1. NEW RESEARCH FROM THE US AND SWEDEN SUGGESTS THE HPV VACCINE IS BEATING CERVICAL CANCER Two new studies are reinforcing the already strong evidence that HPV vaccines…

New evidence continues to show what vaccines can achieve, from preventing cervical cancer to protecting children from malaria. But it also underscores a broader reality, protection depends not only on science, but on access.

Explore the latest edition of Global Health Notes: bit.ly/3PceRJU

What does it mean to protect a girl’s future? In northern Benin, conversations about protection are changing.

Survivor and community advocate Sanny Taïbatou works with families to challenge female genital mutilation while also building confidence in childhood vaccination: bit.ly/4aXWfG6

Non-traditional partners drive malaria vaccine uptake in the DRC From radio hosts to theater troupes, PATH is working with a diverse group of organizations to raise awareness of malaria vaccines.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, malaria remains one of the leading causes of illness and death among young children.

As the country rolls out the malaria vaccine, partners beyond the traditional health sector are stepping in to help reach families & drive uptake. bit.ly/4u9iQHc via PATH

In India, a team of transgender women lead a vaccination revolution The “Sakhee didis”, a path-breaking team of trans women outreach workers, have helped to get thousands of vulnerable kids protected.

India’s “Sakhi didis” are a path-breaking team of trans women outreach workers who have helped to protect 1,500 vulnerable children against vaccine-preventable diseases. Learn how they overcame stigma and resistance to become essential community mobilisers: bit.ly/4aWgKmI

In India, a team of transgender women lead a vaccination revolution The “Sakhee didis”, a path-breaking team of trans women outreach workers, have helped to get thousands of vulnerable kids protected.

Over two years, 12 Sakhee didis played a crucial role in ensuring that nearly 1,500 children received life-saving vaccines, reaching approximately 40 households every day. Read their incredible story of courage and determination this #InternationalWomensDay: bit.ly/4aWgKmI

In the early months, many Sakhee didis faced deep suspicion and open hostility but their perseverance paid off.

Under the Sakhee initiative – a two-year pilot project run by the NGO ZMQ and funded by Gavi – transgender women were trained to go door to door, explain vaccination schedules, dispel rumours, screen informational films and accompany government health workers during immunisation sessions.

Vaccine hesitancy is widespread in these neighbourhoods, propelled by misinformation, fear and lack of access to reliable health information.

In India’s densely populated slum settlements of Mumbra and Kausa, a team of transgender women known as “Sakhee didis” became essential vaccine champions and community mobilisers. They overcame stigma and mistrust to reach and protect 1,500 vulnerable children:

Every vaccine journey starts with a single step.

On #InternationalWomensDay we honour the unsung heroines of healthcare who carry lifesaving vaccines to children in all corners of the world. 💜💉

Protecting children without fear: A new way to vaccinate against polio in Afghanistan Afghanistan's polio eradication programme has deployed needle-free jet injectors for the first time, vaccinating over 1.2 million children across the country's eastern region

✅Painless

✅Rapid

✅Easy to transport and administer

Learn how a special needle-free jet injector is advancing Afghanistan’s efforts to #EndPolio: bit.ly/4aSxMlw

The women-only Facebook group boosting cancer prevention in Zambia 136,000 Zambian women have banded together online to help drive down the country’s sky-high rates of cervical cancer.

In Zambia, 136,000 women have banded together online to help drive down the country’s sky-high rates of cervical cancer.

Here’s how a women-only Facebook group is making a real difference in boosting cancer prevention: bit.ly/47cyKGW

7 ways gender inequality still blocks access to life-saving vaccines Ahead of International Women’s Day, we look at the structural inequalities that still prevent women and girls – and those they care for – from accessing immunisation.

For many children, access to life-saving vaccines isn’t just a matter of supply, but whether the women in their lives have the time, money and freedom to reach them.

Here are 7 ways gender inequality still blocks access to vaccines: bit.ly/4ufY60E

When floods hit, the risk of malaria follows: how disaster systems can prepare better Flooding alters the environment in ways that favour malaria transmission.

After floods, communities struggle with destroyed homes and livelihoods, disrupted health systems & displacement. But a slower-moving crisis often follows a flood: Increased risk of malaria.

Here’s how disaster systems can better prepare for this threat: bit.ly/40EkS4C via @uk.theconversation.com

Every two minutes, a woman dies from cervical cancer – a disease that is both devastating and largely preventable. Since 2012, our #HPV vaccine programme has protected ~86 million girls against the leading cause of cervical cancer and prevented ~1.4 million future deaths.

The HPV vaccine landed in the US in 2006. Since then, cervical cancer in young American women is down 27%. But in some states it's fallen by more than half, while other states have barely seen an improvement.

This International HPV Awareness Day, read the full story: bit.ly/4cs6LXs

From measles complications to desert vaccinators and a rapid Ebola response in the DRC, this week’s Global Health Notes newsletter looks at how health systems hold the line against infectious disease. bit.ly/3N2vS8O

Over a quarter of all malaria cases worldwide happen in one single country: Nigeria.

Kebbi State introduced the malaria vaccine a year ago.

The result, according to local authorities: 50% fewer malaria hospitalisations and under-five mortality nearly halved.

🔗: bit.ly/46DVEqy

A virus hiding inside bacteria may help explain colorectal cancer Scientists found an unexpected viral hitchhiker lurking inside a common gut bacterium – and it was twice as prevalent in people with colorectal cancer.

We’ve known for years that a common gut bacterium is linked to colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, that same bacteria is found in most healthy people, too, making this an unreliable marker.

But new evidence shows that there might be a virus lurking inside the bacterium: bit.ly/4aKWOTE

Preparing for AI-Enabled Bioweapons Sania Nishtar sees an urgent need for global coordination and financing to confront new pathogens with pandemic potential.

AI-enabled gene editing has radically lowered the barrier to developing genetically engineered bioweapons. How do we strengthen the world’s defences against bioterrorism threats? Dr Sania Nishtar explains for Project Syndicate: bit.ly/4l910A6

We studied primary care in 6 rich countries – it’s under unprecedented strain everywhere Like other high-income countries, Australia and New Zealand are leaning on GPs to solve increasingly complex health needs – without the necessary investment.

Primary care is the backbone of every health system. Yet across six high-income countries, it’s under unprecedented strain with rising demand and shrinking GP workforces.

Here’s what this means for long term sustainability: bit.ly/4rJSwSp

New research reveals huge impact of measles outbreaks on schools and hospitals Two studies of measles outbreaks in Birmingham, UK, and Texas, USA, show the intense pressure measles outbreaks put on both health systems and school attendance.

Measles outbreaks do more than make children sick.

In Texas, for example, 141 confirmed measles cases should have meant around 564 missed school days. Instead, absences surged to 5,822 days, roughly 10x higher than expected.

A new study shows how measles outbreaks hit education: bit.ly/4b3Ugio

Proximity to a clinic is not the same as access to care. Here’s how one family slipped through the cracks due to poverty in Lesotho, and how local nurses came together to protect not just the family's health, but their dignity too.

Read the full story: bit.ly/4rMuGFQ

From conflict-fuelled cholera outbreaks and climate-driven dengue surges, to shrinking health budgets and the risk of Disease X, global health is already in the midst of a complex year.

Here are the 6 top health threats experts are watching this year: bit.ly/4cenmOa

As mosquito populations grow, Nigeria confronts a swelling dengue threat Often mistaken for malaria or other febrile illnesses, dengue may be flying under the radar – but cases are increasing across the country.

Dengue was first isolated in Nigeria in 1960. Today, cases are rising again, often mistaken for malaria or typhoid and missed in routine diagnosis.

Here’s why health officials are paying closer attention and what’s being done to keep Nigeria’s dengue cases in check: bit.ly/4cbXhPT

Will AI help or hinder scientific publishing? On one hand, AI could reshape both the creation and evaluation of research. But experts warn of risks.

The full story: bit.ly/3OOLEo9 via Undark.

When people say, “We all had chickenpox and we were fine,” they often assume measles is similar.

It isn’t. While they both are highly contagious with itchy red spots, measles can cause lifelong complications and kills nearly 100,000 people – mainly young children – a year.

bit.ly/46LeX10

Three months to halt Ebola: how the DRC contained the virus In a remote part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, people are breathing easy again, after vaccines from the global stockpile helped squash a potentially catastrophic outbreak.

Last September, the DRC suffered from its 16th outbreak of Ebola. Rapid international coordination, including shipment of vaccines from the global stockpile, helped bring the epidemic under control before it swelled to epidemic proportions: bit.ly/3OwTC5j