Amref health Africa appointed by Gavi as the new Civil Society Organisation (CSO) host
Our Story
As part of the 2022 World Immunisation Week held in April, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Amref Health Africa, and the Gavi Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Steering Committee announced a new partnership to harness the full potential of civil society to deliver on Gavi’s ambitious mission to leave no one behind with immunisation.
The announcement built on the momentum created by a Gavi Board-approved initiative to support and empower Civil Society Organisations and communities to identify and reach underserved and missed communities. This included a requirement for all countries supported by Gavi to allocate at least ten percent of their combined Health System Strengthening (HSS), Equity Accelerator Funding (EAF) and Targeted Country Assistance (TCA) ceilings for activities undertaken by CSO partners.
The decision makes Amref Health Africa the first organisation located in a lower middle-income country to host the CSO Constituency. Additionally, the coordination of these activities from Kenya – a country that is eligible for Gavi support – is a unique opportunity to meaningfully include beneficiary communities and their representatives in the design and implementation of immunisation policies and programs.
Hosting the Gavi CSO Constituency is an exciting opportunity for Amref to support the overall global immunisation agenda – IA2030 – by expanding and deepening civil society engagement with key stakeholders, including government leaders, multilateral partners, private sector organisations and grassroots communities.
Amref will offer strategic advisory services to the Gavi CSO Steering Committee and support capacity building efforts promoted by the Gavi Secretariat across the CSO Constituency for county-led engagement and implementation. Amref will also ensure there is coordination between the Gavi Secretariat, the Gavi CSO Steering Committee and the Constituency and will manage communications on key and relevant issues for the Civil Society immunisation community.
Civil society organisations play an essential role in supporting communities and health systems, and Amref has been at the core of working with different governments to increase sustainable health access to communities that would otherwise miss out on these essential services
Civil society organisations are critical to reaching the most marginalized, as they understand the specific needs and context of these populations and have the trust and confidence of the communities we are trying to serve
No community should be left behind. The Gavi Civil Society Constituency is excited by the partnership between Gavi and Amref – the first Southern Hemisphere host for the Gavi CSO Steering Committee. The Gavi 5.0 agenda is ambitious, and we are fully committed to its success
Notes to readers
The selection of Amref Health Africa as the new Gavi Civil Society Organisation (CSO) host followed a competitive process, beginning with a Request for Proposals published on the Gavi website on 14th July 2021. The final selection was made by consensus by members of the Gavi Secretariat and the Gavi CSO Steering Committee/Constituency. The Gavi CSO Constituency and its Steering Committee is independent of the Gavi Civil Society Organisation (CSO) host and has appointed members for representation. Amref succeeds the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) which completed its hosting term on 31st December 2021 after ten years.