Resources

Chronic hepatitis B is commonly the result of vertical transmission, and babies who are infected before they are one year old have a 90% risk of developing chronic hepatitis. Yet when administered within 24 hours of birth, the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine can prevent 75% to 95% of vertical transmission.With funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, PATH is employing a mixed methods approach to assess learning questions on the feasibility, acceptability, cost, market access, and impact of innovative strategies to improve the reach of timely hepatitis B birth dose vaccine for babies born in both in- and out-of-facility settings.By exploring innovative delivery strategies, assessing the role of community health systems, and understanding stakeholder perspectives, the project’s primary objective is to identify effective models for increasing hepatitis B birth dose coverage. Evidence and insights from this initiative will be applicable to countries planning for hepatitis B birth dose vaccine introduction as well as those seeking to deploy new strategies to increase coverage rates and timely administration within 24 hours of birth.

The Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control (DIPC) project, launched in November 2022, is a collaborative initiative led by GIZ and Digital Square at PATH to strengthen immunization systems in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania. In response to the fragmentation and lack of interoperability exposed during the COVID‑19 pandemic, DIPC works closely with country health ministries to select, localize, and implement digital public health tools—such as Electronic Immunization Registries and WHO SMART-based Digital Adaptation Kits—to build scalable, interoperable, and locally sustainable immunization platforms. Through end-to-end ecosystem mapping, system enhancement, and capacity-building, the project aims to create resilient, digitally enabled immunization workflows that can support both routine vaccination and future pandemic preparedness across participating countries by 2025.

As part of the Strengthening Vaccine-Preventable Disease Surveillance System Assessment, 23 countries responded to the landscape survey, which included 86 questions, including a mix of yes or no and multiple-choice questions, making them primarily quantitative. A smaller number of open-ended questions captured more qualitative or contextual information. Survey responses were mapped to indicators within specific sub-domains of a maturity model, with scores calculated for each sub-domain. These were then averaged to generate an overall maturity score for each of the eight main domains.

Supporting governments and partners across Africa to enhance surveillance systems for vaccine-preventable diseases. Through a regional assessment initiative, we evaluated digital readiness, system capacity, and data quality to identify opportunities to strengthen surveillance for better disease detection, reporting, and response.

Country- and Community-Led Scale-Up of Accessible, Integrated, and Family-Centered EVT Plus Services for a Healthy Start (SAFEStart+)While childhood survival rates have significantly improved in the past decade, every year, approximately five million children die before their fifth birthday—almost half are newborns in their first month of life. Vertical transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas disease is a leading cause of preventable stillbirth and child mortality. Timely diagnosis and treatment of these infections are critical to protect the health and well-being of women, infants, and young children.Through partnership and funding from Unitaid, PATH and the project’s co-leads, the International Community of Women living with HIV Eastern Africa and the World Hepatitis Alliance, are leading a four-year project designed for maximum reach and impact: SAFEStart+. This project is accelerating demand and adoption of evidence-based approaches and integrated delivery strategies to eliminate vertical transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B, and Chagas disease.SAFEStart+ is supporting countries and communities to design and scale integrated, people-centered services that meet local needs. This includes expanding access to new diagnostics that can detect multiple infections with a single test and reinforcing antenatal care services to deliver preventive treatment when it matters most.