Tanzania's 'holela holela' campaign uses a friendly pill mascot to combat antimicrobial resistance

Led by a local doctor and supported by Pfizer's Accord initiative and other partners, Rwanda launched a one-month training fellowship to train local doctors with specialized rheumatology skills. Since its implementation in February 2024, more than 1,800 patients have received rheumatological care, many for the first time in their lives.

Anambra State’s telemedicine program is closing the healthcare access gap in rural communities, making universal health coverage more possible. The program began in 2022 and has since hired and trained 42 doctors in providing remote healthcare. As more people use the telemedicine program, public trust in primary healthcare across the region is increasing.

Eight Medical is a technology-driven emergency medical service that uses real-time communication systems to deliver ambulance services within 10 minutes or less. The service has 45 control center staff, over 400 field personnel, and over 25 ambulances, and operates under a “care now, pay later” scheme, making emergency healthcare more affordable. Since launching, it has received over 15,000 calls and saved about 8,000 lives by providing fast, life-saving care.

RestoringVision addresses the global shortage of reading glasses by tackling supply and demand challenges. On the demand side, they partner with local NGOs and governments to provide vision screenings and free initial glasses, particularly for those in regions who either don’t know reading glasses are an option or don’t realize they’re losing their vision. On the supply side, they work to build retail networks and educate employers about productivity benefits, as workers receiving glasses show productivity increases up to 32%.

The Nguvu Collective advocates for patients’ rights and the establishment of committees that help educate and protect patients in healthcare settings to prevent misdiagnosis and malpractice. Since 2022, the campaign has reached over 8,000 people, advocated for protections from the local government, published materials to spread patients’ rights education to underserved communities and taught healthcare workers how to be more mindful when providing care.

The world’s first malaria vaccine was introduced in a pilot program in 2019 and found to reduce severe cases of malaria by 22%. Since then, the vaccine has been rolled out to several regions and has administered more than 1.8 million doses throughout the country, which has contributed to reducing prevalence rates from 27% in 2015, to 3.6% today.

The Saving Mothers, Giving Life project aims to improve access to and the quality of maternal and infant healthcare to reduce maternal and newborn deaths. The project established a Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response team and launched an interactive digital chat solution on WhatsApp to get important health information to pregnant women. Through these efforts, maternal and perinatal deaths in 25 private health facilities decreased by 60% and 16%, respectively.

To increase awareness of cervical cancer and the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine, Al-Ansar radio shares information about the disease, the vaccine and works to dispel speculation and misinformation about vaccines in general to those in underserved and hard-to-reach areas, as they’re often hardest to get vaccinated.

The Community Health Influencer, Promoter and Services (CHIPS) program aims to reduce maternal and child mortality by increasing access to primary healthcare services. CHIPS workers conduct weekly home visits where they provide helpful information on healthcare services, preventive medicine and connections to nearby health facilities. CHIPS launched in 2018 and in 2019, data showed that maternal deaths had decreased from 120 to 90.

The Boresha afya ya mama na mtoto (improve the health of mother and child) program works to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates by connecting mothers with community health volunteers. These volunteers provide important education on topics like antenatal care and also help to increase access to immunization services. When the group formed in 2018, 531 women died during childbirth or pregnancy, but as of 2023, that number has dropped to 344 thanks to the program’s initiatives.