Gender and Immunization: Opportunities for Action

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we’re delighted to share the following newly-packaged resource from our Gender and Immunization: Opportunities for Action course: https://usaidmomentum.org/resource/gender-and-immunization-opportunities-for-action/   Given that the global immunization community has only recently recognized that gender-related barriers lie on a critical pathway to achieving high and equitable vaccination coverage,[1] it’s imperative to have materials available that can advance this nascent knowledge base.   In the summer of 2022, MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity developed this four-session month-long course and held it on the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Boost learning platform. Its overall goal was to provide national and sub-national participants from low-and middle-income countries with the knowledge, tools, skills, capacity, and confidence to reduce gender barriers to immunization and document their efforts to advance this burgeoning and critical technical area. These gender course materials are meant to serve as a practical reference to help inform and guide the work of immunization professionals in LMICs, global health students, program implementers, and policy makers interested in gender mainstreaming in immunization.   While we’re launching this as part of our International Women’s Day hurrah, gender is a social construct that includes everyone! EVERYONE! And we all have to work together to build a world where every person can thrive.           [1] Goodman T, et al. Why gender matters for immunization. Vaccine. (2022) S0264-410X(22)01495-5. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.11.071