In this edition, we spotlight practical advocacy strategies straight from the front lines of immunisation programs. Learn directly from country practitioners in the Philippines and St. Lucia, who share their firsthand experiences in crafting compelling cases for domestic funding and planning for new vaccine introductions. Their videos offer actionable insights for navigating common fiscal and political challenges.
We are also pleased to share key outcomes from a recent joint Gavi-Linked Learning Forum, where stakeholders from five middle-income countries convened to diagnose the root causes of persistent vaccine coverage challenges and exchange transformative strategies to strengthen the equity and resiliency of immunisation programs.
As always, this newsletter features a curated selection of the latest evidence and tools from the global community, including new resources on reaching zero-dose children, the financial impact of digital tools (like EIRs), and pro-equity vaccination strategies.
Warm regards,
Elizabeth Ohadi, Program Director, Linked Immunisation Action Network
Network Updates
Unlocking Domestic Funding: Lessons from the Philippines
Facing tight budgets and competing priorities, the Philippines’ cracked the code on domestic advocacy. How did they move their funding requests from a simple “ask” to a non-negotiable national priority? Discover their key strategy for integrating vaccines into the country’s core development plans and mobilizing top-level champions to make the case. Their approach provides a powerful blueprint for any program struggling for fiscal space. Want to know the exact steps they took? Watch the full practitioner perspectives video to learn their actionable framework here.
A Roadmap for Advocacy: St. Lucia’s Plan for New Vaccine Introduction
Where do you even begin when advocating for a new vaccine? For the team in St. Lucia, the answer was a game-changing, structured plan that replaced uncertainty with confidence for their PCV introduction. They reveal the one tool that helped them identify key influencers and build a step-by-step advocacy roadmap, ensuring their efforts were targeted and effective from the start. Watch the practitioner perspectives video to see the planning process that empowered their strategy here.
Learning Forum on Sustaining and Strengthening Immunisation Coverage in Middle Income Countries
A joint Gavi-Linked learning forum on Sustaining and Strengthening Immunisation Coverage in Middle Income Countries brought together stakeholders from five countries to discuss and share experiences, challenges, best practices and ongoing needs for countries to overcome persistent barriers to achieving strong and sustainable immunisation programs. Discussions helped diagnose and better understand the drivers and root causes of these challenges driving persistently lower vaccine coverage and the transformative strategies to improve coverage. Discover country experiences and key insights by exploring presentations and posters from the workshop, available on our website here.
Featured News & Resources
Innovative and sustainable solutions for reducing ‘zero-dose’ vaccination: How can the region respond?
A roundtable that focused on the challenge of reaching zero-dose children in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) amid declining immunisation rates and increasing health disparities convened key stakeholders, including public health experts, EPI managers, and representatives from organizations like WHO, Gavi, and CDC, to explore effective, sustainable solutions for reducing ‘zero-dose’ prevalence in the EMR. This article summarizes the strategies and findings from the roundtable discussion into short-term and long-term solutions, policy-based and operational strategies. Review insights from the article here.
What does it cost to reach every child? Why costing zero-dose immunisation interventions matters
A new toolkit has been developed to help estimate the costs for interventions aimed at reaching zero-dose children. Th practical toolkit offers step-by-step guidance and easy-to-use tools for estimating the financial and economic costs of interventions to identify and reach ZD and under-immunised children. It is designed to help country teams generate reliable cost data to strengthen planning, budgeting and advocacy efforts. Learn more about the toolkit and how to use it here.
From data to decisions: why political economy analysis matters for reaching zero-dose children
How do political governance and power dynamics affect the number of children going without vaccines? The Gavi-funded Zero-Dose Learning Hub (ZDLH) conducted political economy analyses (PEAs) in Bangladesh and Nigeria, two countries with complex immunisation landscapes. These assessments offer public health professionals a fresh lens: one that goes beyond data quality or coverage rates to examine how governance, power dynamics and institutional behaviour influence efforts to reach missed communities. Review the assessment lessons here.
Behavioural and social drivers of routine childhood immunisation in selected low coverage areas in the Philippines
Routine childhood vaccination coverage under the National Immunisation Program of the Philippines is well below the target of 95% with a high number of zero-dose children. Declining immunisation rates led to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and pertussis. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting childhood vaccine uptake by exploring the perspectives of community members, program managers, and coordinators. Examine the study findings here.
Financial impact of digital immunisation tools in low- and middle-income countries
Digital health interventions, such as electronic immunisation registries (eIRs) and electronic logistic management information systems (eLMIS), have the potential to significantly improve immunization data management and vaccine logistics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to measure the costs of implementing eIR and eLMIS systems in LMICs and estimate their economic costs as compared to the previous paper-based registries. Discover the article here.
Systematic review of pro-equity strategies to improve vaccination among priority populations
A new systematic review identifies “pro-equity” strategies to improve vaccination uptake, coverage, and/or timeliness among under-served populations. The authors synthesize evidence on interventions designed to counteract determinants of inequity which hamper immunization among women and gender minorities, migrants and mobile population, people living with disabilities, ethnic minorities and urban and rural population. Read key findings from the review here.
Health impact and cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination in Tunisia
A new modeling study has found that HPV vaccination could substantially reduce cervical cancer in Tunisia, where it is not yet part of the national immunisation program. These findings provide valuable evidence to guide the country’s decision on introducing HPV vaccination. Learn more in the article here.
Country Spotlights
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines launch cervical cancer elimination initiative and human papillomavirus screening program
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines officially joined the global movement to eliminate cervical cancer with the launch of its human papillomavirus (HPV) screening program, marking a historic milestone for women’s health in the country and the Caribbean. Learn more about the program launch here.
External Events
Getting it right: Quality Data to Prioritise and Reach Zero-Dose and under-immunised Children
On August 28, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Boost hosted the first session of the Zero-Dose Learning Webinar Series, exploring how digital health tools like DHIS2, GIS mapping, and routine review meetings can help identify missed children and drive equitable immunization. Speakers from UNICEF and WHO shared country examples and practical strategies, followed by a dynamic panel discussion.
Watch the Session Recording [English], access the Session Presentation [English], and view the Webinar Summary Brief [English].