Join JSI at the 2018 Global Immunization Meeting

Vaccinations have the power to save millions of lives, but complete immunization coverage can only be achieved by strengthening the systems that deliver life-saving vaccines.

JSI will join more than 200 immunization experts in Kigali, Rwanda from June 26-28, 2018 for the 2018 Global Immunization Meeting (GIM). The GIM meeting is a forum for global, regional, and country immunization partners to review and discuss key issues related to strengthening routine immunization, the implementation of new and underutilized vaccines, accelerated disease control efforts, notably for measles, rubella, and maternal and newborn tetanus, and in alignment with polio eradication efforts. This year’s meeting will focus on post-2020 immunization priorities, with the theme of navigating transitions.

JSI will have a booth showcasing how we strengthen routine immunization systems around the globe and will provide updates on Twitter @JSIHealth throughout the meeting. JSI staff will also participate in the following sessions:
Tuesday, June 26

PLENARY 1: Global Shifts Affecting the Future of Immunization
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Craig Burgess, senior technical advisor, JSI
This session will set the stage for the GIM meeting to discuss the wider set of global transitions the community sees ahead that will impact global, regional and country immunization priorities. The session is designed to solicit input from everyone at the meeting and gain early understanding on where there are complementary and divergent views as the community moves into the next decade. This will be the first of many interactive sessions at the meeting so please come ready to give input.

Session 1a: Polio Transitions: Turning the Challenge into an Opportunity
2:00 – 3:30 PM | Folake Olayinka, Immunization Team Lead, JSI/MCSP
The primary focus of polio transition has been on managing the risk. This session aims at highlighting the opportunity. The focus will be ongoing/potential initiatives taken at the country/regional/global level to tackle polio transition proactively. The proposed outcome is to explore ways to realign partnerships to strengthen immunization and to protect polio investments, as an integral part of the post-2020 agenda.

Session 2c: Best Practices in Technical Assistance to Countries
4:00 – 5:30 PM | Lora Shimp, co-director of the Immunization Center, JSI
The session will be attended by participants and experts from ministries of health and from partner agencies. During this session, four presenters will share their experiences related to the provision of technical assistance to country immunization programmes. The session will also showcase best practices that can be replicated or scaled up in other countries. The presentations and discussions should lead to some understanding of what constitutes good quality technical support.

Wednesday, June 27

Session 3A: Urban RI: Understanding Challenges, Uncovering Opportunities
1:45 – 2:15 PM | Craig Burgess, senior technical advisor, JSI (Facilitator)
The world is currently undergoing a far-reaching transition in where and how people live, including a large-scale movement from rural to urban areas. Urbanization is generating a new set of challenges for reaching unimmunized and under-immunized children, including weak urban health infrastructure, the increasing importance of socio-cultural barriers relative to geographic barriers, and the need to confront unique dimensions of vulnerability (e.g., urban slums). Given this rapidly changing context, it is critical to ask ourselves: are the approaches and structures that underpin national routine immunization programmes adapting quickly enough to keep up?

This session aims to generate a robust dialogue on what it will take to better reach urban populations, especially marginalized groups like refugees, recent migrants, and those who live in slums, sometimes for decades. Through a series of interactive case studies, it will first bring to life the unique challenges associated with urban RI programming across a diverse range of contexts and generate a discussion around specific strategies and practices that can be employed to improve immunization outcomes in these settings. In a panel-style debrief, it will then aim to draw out broader lessons that can be generalized from these experiences, and highlight implications for the future of urban RI programming.