our impact | covid-19 response
People-centered
interventions
built on the virtuous cycle
of global learning
Responding to COVID-19
Since the beginning of the pandemic, VillageReach has worked to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on under-reached in five African countries and Washington State, USA through:
- providing information for disease prevention to keep people healthy,
- protecting health workers who care for under-reached communities,
- maintaining essential services during the pandemic, and
- administering COVID-19 vaccines through high-volume vaccine sites.
Resources
Case Study: Demand Generation at COVID-19 Vaccination Sites in CI and DRC
Mozambique: A Highly Effective COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign
Leveraging the Integrated Medical Drone Delivery System for COVID-19 Response in Malawi
VillageReach COVID-19 Response: 2020-2021
Equitable Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa
COVID-19 vaccine delivery in LMICs: How to think about concentration vs dispersion in delivery?
Vaccine Delivery Program
We know what works because of twenty years of immunization supply chain work across sub-Saharan Africa, and we have applied this in our COVID-19 Vaccines Preparedness and Delivery efforts across two continents and at the global level. Our COVID-19 vaccine delivery strategy has five elements that were carefully selected based on a review of existing gaps in country planning and response and where VillageReach’s expertise could have the most impact.
Our Expertise
- Vaccine Operations and Systems Readiness
- Demand Management and Generation
- Digital Systems and Data Use Implementation
- Workforce Readiness
- Health Financing and Costing
VillageReach supports vaccine distribution planning and coordinates physical distribution of vaccines and related products, particularly for last mile health facilities and communities are not left out of distribution and access plans. We also: Support set up of new vaccine access points; Support community-based vaccine events; Design patient, vaccine and data flows; Create vaccine storage and handling policies to reduce wastage.
VillageReach is focusing on increasing demand for COVID-19 vaccines through existing health care hotlines and messaging platforms to advise governments on creating targeted communication strategies.
VillageReach helps governments and partners implement tools to make the analysis and use of complex data more automated and actionable. For vaccine sites and inventory managers, we have: Helped define minimum user requirements for vaccine scheduling systems; Evaluated potential vendors and rolled out chosen solution(s); Built stock inventory dashboards to manage vaccine stock.
VillageReach develops tailored training modules on vaccine safety and preparation, motivational messaging, adverse event documentation and handling. We also advocate for unlicensed health workers (such as community health workers and students) to administer vaccines after receiving appropriate training and emergency licensing.
VillageReach is working with government officials to rapidly document true cost of vaccine delivery so that budgets, fundraising, and financing advocacy all reflect accurate figures.
Combatting COVID-19 Misinformation
An important part of our COVID-19 response is using digital tools to disseminate accurate information about COVID-19 to combat rumors and empower communities to keep themselves safe. We used our existing solution, Health Center by Phone, to get information to communities in our core countries.
COVID-19 Action Fund for Africa
In June 2020, VillageReach joined forces with five like-minded organizations (Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC), Direct Relief, the Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP), and Pandemic Action Network) to form the COVID-19 Action Fund for Africa (CAF-Africa) to supply CHWs with personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Protecting the Community Health Workforce During COVID-19” Report
CAF-Africa Links
News
CAF-Africa delivers over 121 million pieces of PPE, 2022
