The Asia Civil Society Dialogue Series, held virtually in July 2025, convened civil society organizations (CSOs), Gavi representatives, technical partners, and public health leaders from across Asia. Timed to commemorate World Hepatitis Day (28 July), the dialogue aimed to spotlight CSO-led innovations in immunization, promote uptake of the Hepatitis B Birth Dose (HepB-BD), and strengthen community engagement in national immunization strategies. The session provided a platform to exchange best practices, showcase grassroots experiences, and align stakeholders around community-centered, equity-driven approaches to immunization.

Dee Lee, President-elect of the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), delivered a powerful keynote urging governments and global health actors to recognize hepatitis B as a silent epidemic. He highlighted that hepatitis B is the second deadliest infectious disease globally and that a lot remains to be done in terms of securing funding and highlighting the importance of addressing the existing barriers to elimination of hepatitis B. He cited his own example of living with hepatitis B because of not receiving the crucial birth dose and championed the birth dose vaccine as a critical, life-saving intervention, particularly for newborns delivered outside health facilities.

Mr. Lee emphasized that CSOs, in addition to being implementers, should be core partners in vaccine delivery, accountability, and community trust-building. He also invited all stakeholders to participate in the World Hepatitis Summit 2026, to be hosted in Bangkok, as a major platform to accelerate elimination efforts.

Mr. Sagar Dahal, Public Health Advisor at GTA Nepal, outlined the important contributions of CSOs in Nepal’s immunization landscape. He highlighted that Nepal’s health system is underfunded, with only 4.6% of the national budget allocated to health. He spoke of how CSOs are addressing gaps in:

• Vaccine introduction and advocacy (e.g., TCV, Cholera vaccine).
• Community mobilization and misinformation.
• Evidence generation through hesitancy studies and surveillance.
• Delivery innovation, particularly in reaching underserved and remote areas.

Sagar’s speech underscored that CSOs are exploring innovative financing mechanisms to fund routine immunization, including CSR partnerships, provincial co-financing, and pooled procurement. He highlighted Gavi’s 10% CSO allocation as a transformative opportunity to embed civil society into routine immunization planning and delivery.

Ms. Zsofia Hesketh, Program Manager at Gavi, presented an overview of Gavi’s support for the Hepatitis B Birth Dose:

• Gavi has supported Hep B since 2000 through Pentavalent vaccines.
• The birth dose was added to the Vaccine Investment Strategy (VIS) in 2018.
• Delayed due to COVID-19, the program was launched in July 2024.
• Eritrea will be the first country to introduce the vaccine in September 2025; Nepal is expected by 2027.

Gavi provides:

• Financing for procurement, introduction grants, and supplies.
• Technical assistance for applications.
• Encouragement of integration with maternal health, HIV/syphilis programs, and community-led delivery.

Gavi mandates that countries include community engagement strategies in their applications for nomadic pastoralists to deliver birth doses.

WHA, through Dee Lee’s reflections, shared how global civil society advocacy helped to relaunch the HepB-BD program after pandemic-related delays. Dee spoke of how WHA operates as a network of people with lived experience, empowering local voices to inform policy and design community-responsive programs. It continues to:

• Support CSOs in navigating national immunization spaces.
• Build capacity for community-led accountability.
• Promote grassroots-to-global collaboration, ensuring the voices of people affected by hepatitis shape public health agendas.

Dee emphasized the importance of investing in civil society leadership to eliminate hepatitis B.