This Nigerian's campaign for the HPV jab is a fight against more than cancer

By December 2023, the nationwide campaign had vaccinated about 4.7 million girls; however, Osun continued to experience pushback, with citizens resisting the campaign due to misinformation and a lack of understanding about the vaccine’s significance. The federal government also joined in, adding the HPV vaccine to its routine immunization system, which helped about 4.7 million girls get vaccinated.

The Mann Deshi Tarang Vahini community radio station aims to educate and broadcast important information, like weather alerts and COVID-19 resources, to rural areas in the country where access to information is often lacking. Listenership varies by region, but in some areas the radio station has over 100,000 listeners across more than 100 villages.

Tanzania launched the "Holela Holela Itakukosti" public awareness campaign from May to September 2024 to address the large number of deaths linked to antimicrobial resistance. By working with USAID, local government and Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the campaign deployed three national radio stations to promote responsible antimicrobial use and infection prevention, reaching 24.7 million listeners.

Crown Agents is an international development organization working to get people vaccinated against COVID-19, despite vaccine shortages and misinformation from anti-vaxxers.

There isn’t a lot of media outlets providing age-appropriate news for children. So, four journalists came together to create “KidNuz,” a children’s news podcast. The show has garnered thousands of listeners. “Although KidNuz's listenership is mainly between the ages of eight and 12, children as young as five, and even adults, listen in.” The podcast provides children with news about “about politics, current events, or science, with inspiring humanity stories, for example, about people doing charitable work or helping animals.”

Kano State's Zero Dose Learning Hub Community of Practice on Immunization is tackling the crisis of over 280,000 unvaccinated children in the state by coordinating across government ministries, the State House of Assembly, and community leaders to ensure immunization commitments translate into actual funding and vaccine delivery. Its effectiveness is reflected in a dramatic rise in immunization budgets. On the ground, Voluntary Community Mobilizers have helped dispel myths about vaccines.

The Saving Lives and Livelihoods Project tackles vaccine access barriers in hard-to-reach communities by bringing immunization services directly to families on farms and in remote camps with trained mobile health teams. Since the work began, immunizations have increased in several areas, and children who were previously overdue have since been vaccinated.

In response to gaps in accessing psychiatric care, Cedar Oaks Clinic developed a team-based mental health care model that provides alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization through same-day crisis services, six-week intensive community programs, and collaborative care involving 30 specialized staff members. The clinic uses a holistic approach where providers from different specialties work together to create individualized treatment plans. So far, the clinic has served 3,000 patients, receiving hundreds of positive reviews.

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.