This year’s first of two Bi-Annual meetings of the GAVI CSO Constituency’s Steering Committee was held in Abuja, Nigeria. The meeting was organised by AMREF, the host, and AFENet, who were responsible for running reservations and logistics in Nigeria. Members of the steering committee came from 11 different countries from all around the world.

The meeting covered several topics such as the adoption of the Charter, a presentation of the CSCE by the Gavi Secretariat, COVAX CSO engagement, CSO Mapping, Communications and Visibility, and the establishment of the leadership for the different working groups which will aid, over the coming year, in the consolidation of the structures that have been put in place to engage the constituency at the global level. 

One of the major purposes of the meeting was to share learning from each country and constituency in order to bridge the gap between the understanding at the global, national and subnational levels. This deliberation succeeded due to great participation from all members, and the common agenda to ensure that civil society perspectives are playing a role in shaping global and regional immunisation decisions. 

The meeting reviewed successes from the previous year and was able to develop a work plan for 2023.