Healthier populations, everywhere

MMGH is supporting Papua New Guinea in applying for Gavi funds needed to plan and implement a Measles & Rubella (MR) follow-up campaign. The campaign will also include a routine immunisation strengthening component as well as catch-up for zero-dose children, notably in hard to reach areas.

MMGH supported the Ministry of Health and the WHO Country Office of Lao PDR in developing two successful Gavi applications for the introduction of Human Papillomavirus and Rotavirus vaccines.

MMGH supported the Global Task Force for Cholera Control in the definition of the new Cholera Control strategy. MMGH focused on the design of the governance and funding framework, as well as the costing of the Democratic Republic of Congo case study. The strategy was endorsed in October 2017 by the Cholera Stakeholders meeting in Annecy.

MMGH supported the Country Programmes department of the Gavi Secretariat in defining its competency model and related training programmes. Partnering with Gavi’s Human Resource and Knowledge Management department and conducting focus group discussions, MMGH identified the key elements of the model and designed assessment tools and a training curriculum.

A tablet-based Influenza Vaccine Post-Introduction Evaluation (IPIE) tool was developed by MMGH jointly with WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to provide a systematic approach to assess the influenza vaccine implementation process. The tool was used in three middle-income countries: Belarus, Morocco and Thailand. Data from the three countries highlighted a number of critical factors related to: health workers as a target group and as key influencers; unique challenges for acceptance of the vaccine in pregnant women; and the need for strengthening adverse events reporting and of potential vaccine hesitancy. The assessments led to improvements in the countries’ influenza vaccination programmes. The IPIE tool was found useful for delineating operational strengths and weaknesses of seasonal influenza vaccination programmes.

MMGH supported the Ministry of Health and the WHO Country Office of Lao PDR in the review of the National Immunisation Program (NIP) and the establishment and update of a comprehensive multi-year plan (cMYP) for 2019-2023. This plan specifically lays out the implementation and monitoring of existing and new vaccines and provides detailed insights into the financial needs and resource allocations in view of the country’s upcoming graduation from donor support.

MMGH supported the WHO Department of Infectious Hazard Management (IHM) in the preparation and facilitation of a workshop on country preparedness for vaccine deployment in the event of an influenza pandemic. The main objective was to create a network of international experts that would be able to support their own country, and other countries, to develop national pandemic preparedness plans, and for participants to become educators about the need for countries to be prepared for a pandemic. MMGH revised and updated the WHO “Guidance on Development of a National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for Pandemic Influenza Vaccines” together with its associated Checklist, as well as all necessary workshop materials.

MMGH assisted the National Immunisation Program (NIP), Ministry of Health Cambodia, and the WHO Country Office in Phnom Penh with the Gavi application process for the introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. MMGH conducted a review of the earlier pilot programme implementation and derived lessons learned, facilitated the decision-making of the country Technical Working Group for Health on defining target age groups and delivery settings, and assisted in establishing detailed implementation plans including coverage monitoring, cold chain expansion, communications and demand creation. MMGH supported the NIP in responding to additional queries throughout the Gavi approval process as well as in developing robust vaccine demand forecasts and financial budgets in view of the country’s imminent transition from Gavi support. The application was approved by the Gavi Independent Review Committee (IRC) in March 2019.

Support to the Myanmar Ministry of Health to strengthen leadership, management and coordination of public health programmes.

Improving vaccine access in South-Eastern Europe Health Network member states through an improved knowledge base and procurement strategies.

Support the Global Task Force on Cholera Control to implement the Ending Cholera: A Roadmap to 2030 by creating guidance to assist the development of country cholera strategies.

Support the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in low-and-middle-income countries and in compiling country lessons and experiences.

Assist Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in developing a vision and strategic direction for improving health worker learning and performance.

Support Ghana to continue and expand malaria vaccination.

Support Papua New Guinea’s application for an immunization and health system strengthening grant.

Support countries to use an existing tool to estimate the costs and benefits of implementing the Ending Cholera Roadmap 2030 and support WHO to develop an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) deployment strategy.

Develop and pilot technical training materials for oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaigns.