14 million children each year miss out on life-saving vaccines due to political will and funding falling short. The Global Health Advocacy Incubator is changing that reality by building powerful parliamentary alliances across Africa and Asia to secure sustainable immunization financing. Learn more: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/program-areas/health-systems-strengthening/immunization
Every single day, thousands of children in some of the world's most vulnerable communities go without basic vaccines—shots that could literally save their lives. And it's not because the vaccines aren't available. And it's definitely not because parents don't care.
The real problem is political systems and funding structures that keep dropping the ball. But what if there was a way to change that from the inside?
That's what the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, or GHAI, is doing. They're flipping the script on how immunization financing gets done—by getting parliaments involved.
Back in April, they brought together 21 Members of Parliament from 10 countries—think Ghana, Nigeria, Laos, Madagascar, and more—for a game-changing forum in Istanbul, Turkey. The result? A brand-new Africa-Asia Parliamentary Network built to tackle one thing: how to secure long-term, sustainable financing for national vaccine programs.
Now let's talk numbers.
The 14 million children every year who don't get any vaccines? They're called "zero-dose children," and two-thirds of them live below the international poverty line. It's a brutal cycle.
But here's the bright side: vaccines already save up to five million lives every year. So imagine what could happen if we just fixed the system that delivers them.
That's where GHAI comes in. Their advocacy model is anything but vague. It's a five-part strategy that's already delivering real results.
Here's how it works. Political engagement. They work directly with lawmakers on sustainable funding. Capacity building. They train the government, civil society, and media to push for stronger policies. Public support. They drive the narrative through media and community voices. Bottleneck removal. They identify where funding gets stuck and find ways around it. Budget tracking. They follow the money to make sure promises turn into action.
And this isn't theory. It's happening right now.
Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Madagascar hit all of their 2023 vaccine co-financing targets, thanks to this kind of advocacy. Delegations at the Istanbul forum walked away with concrete plans: Madagascar's forming a parliamentary health caucus, Laos is building a multi-stakeholder coalition—you name it.
GHAI is currently supporting similar efforts across 10 countries in Africa and Asia, in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
And get this—over the past decade, they've helped pass or strengthen more than 143 health policies across 32 countries, reaching over four billion people. So yeah, they're not new to this.
So, if you're working in global health, policymaking, or you just care about protecting the next generation from vaccine-preventable diseases, now's the time to pay attention.
Check out how Global Health Advocacy Incubator is helping drive real change by clicking on the link in the description. Global Health Advocacy Incubator City: Washington Address: 1400 I Street Northwest Website: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/