The global immunization community is now focused on “the big catch-up”, dealing with recovery of immunization services from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, as countries – and immunization staff on the frontlines – work toward the goals of Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030).
At the Seventy-Fourth World Health Assembly, the Director General of the World Health Organization had called for “a broad social movement for immunization that will ensure that immunization remains high on global and regional health agendas and help to generate a groundswell of support or social movement for immunization”.
A Movement is larger than any one individual or organization. The Geneva Learning Foundation is one of many working to support this Movement. In March 2022, we launched a call for immunization staff at all levels of the health system to connect across boundaries of geography and to commit to working together to achieve the goals of Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030). In 2022, over 10,000 health professionals, primarily government workers from districts and facilities, joined this movement and shared ideas and practices, analyzed root causes of their local immunization challenges, and developed and implemented corrective actions to tackle them, together.
Today, we share an open-source Manifesto for how health services could develop in ways that we think would make them more effective, recognizing health workers and communities – and the expertise and experience they hold because they are “there every day” – at the centre of public health systems.
This Manifesto is an open-source draft because, in today’s complex world, we tackle challenges that no one country or organization can possibly overcome alone.
- No vision or strategy can or should be developed as a pronouncement by a single organization of how things should be.
- For such a manifesto to be meaningful requires the participation, and contribution of those on the frontlines of global health, in dialogue with global, regional, and country leaders.
This is why we are inviting you – along with more than 10,000 members of the Movement for Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030 – to bring to life and shape this Manifesto. There are two ways to contribute:
- As you read the Manifesto below, you will find specific questions for your consideration, with links to answer them.
- Follow this link to add in-line comments and inputs to the Manifesto…
Manifesto part 1: power and knowledge within global health
“Build Back Better” [what’s this?30245-X)] and “localization” [what’s this?] — what do these taglines mean in global health?
Despite its best intentions, global health largely remains hierarchical, too often led at global and national levels by traditional power brokers who advocate for empowerment and equity, but rarely let go of their own power or privilege.
In order to truly “build back better”, the way of working will need to be about how health practitioners at any level can engage and learn best-fit practices and tactics from each other, informing dynamic, standards-based guidelines and shaping global expertise. Global health “power holders” will need to move from being the “sage on the stage” to “guides on the side”. Standards and guidelines help provide a collective vision for where a health system needs to go, but as traditionally applied, they all-too-often promote “cookie cutter” development that “cuts-and-pastes” an approach or intervention, without testing, adapting, or questioning how relevant the ideas are for a local culture or context.”
We invite you to answer one or more of these questions in relation to power and knowledge within global health:
How has your work been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? Where are you on the path to recovery? Can you think of something that you are doing better now, as a result of the pandemic? Do you want to go back to the way things were before the pandemic? Or can you imagine how to build back better? Follow this link to answer these questions…
How has sharing experience with colleagues who are facing challenges like yours helped you in your daily work? How is sharing experience different from having global health experts or hierarchical superiors tell you what to do? Which do you believe is most likely to help you progress toward the global health goals and achieve those of Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030)? What is the most useful way for global health agencies and their technical experts to assist you in making real progress where you work? Follow this link to answer these questions?%20What%20is%20the%20most%20useful%20way%20for%20global%20health%20agencies%20and%20their%20technical%20experts%20to%20assist%20you%20in%20making%20real%20progress%20where%20you%20work?)…
Manifesto part 2: investing in Human Resources for health
“In a COVID-19 impacted environment, where health workers are still trusted advisers in the communities they serve, we believe that crisis presents the opportunity of doing better than reverting to the way things were before COVID-19. Preventing the next pandemic lies in strengthening health systems and equipping frontline health workers to detect and respond to outbreaks before they spread. This requires investing in approaches that directly benefit human resources for health at the leadership and service delivery levels.”
What support do you need?
What will help you to build and maintain trust with the communities that you serve? What do you need to improve service delivery where you work? If you are not receiving the support that you need, why do you think that is? What would you like to be different? Answer these questions…
Manifesto part 3: harnessing new digital technologies
“The pandemic and its associated lockdowns opened a new window of opportunity to expand the reach and use of digital health in innovative ways. Digital technologies provide a new economy of effort to support learning and change—offering the means to directly reach, engage, and connect professionals and communities where health targets are either achieved or not.”
How has the digital revolution affected your work?
How have digital technologies become embedded in your daily work? How are you using them to connect with other health professionals and with the communities that you serve? How are these connections helping you to make a difference? What are the challenges that you face in using digital technologies? Answer these questions…
Manifesto part 4: Shaping a new vision for the future, together
“The Movement for Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) has provided practical means to promote lateral and multi-directional exchanges between health professionals from all over the world – creating and sustaining dynamic feedback loops that focus on learning by doing, drawing on the best available evidence and practice in the learning sciences. The future of global health lies in harnessing transformation through hybrid networks fusing digital and physical approaches. We believe that helping professionals grow and maintain people-centered connections is a vital investment for the promise of digital to be realized on the pathway to a more just and equitable world.
Our vision going forward centers on going deeper into facilitating and growing regional, country, and sub-national peer networks, mobilizing the power of digital health, to better equip, motivate, and empower health professionals and communities to test, adapt, implement, scale up, and continuously improve interventions that better address challenges, nurturing local solutions informed by global knowledge to accelerate primary health care and health emergency impact at scale.”
What will health system transformation look like where you work?
How do you see the future of health work where you work? If you could change one thing about how you work, what would it be? What would the result be for the people that you serve? Answer these questions…
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