28th Aug 2024 New Delhi, Delhi, India The United States and the Government of India are applying insights gained from the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance health outcomes in communities across India. Recently in New Delhi, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hosted an event titled “Advancing Localization: Adapt, Enable, and Empower.” The event convened representatives from the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State Health Departments, international and local development partners, donors, and community leaders. The gathering recognized and celebrated the contributions of local actors and communities in advancing inclusive healthcare through USAID’s Momentum-Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity project.
India’s COVID-19 vaccination program, spearheaded by the Government of India, was the world’s largest vaccination program and administered over 2.2 billion doses. Through the MOMENTUM project, USAID leveraged the expertise of 26 local partners to reach more than 60 million people in 18 Indian states and facilitated the administration of more than 15 million COVID-19 vaccines using the Govt of India’s strong Immunization platform. It also supported the Government of India’s ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ (door-to-door) vaccination campaign, aiming to increase vaccination coverage among vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, including the elderly, tribal communities, and transgender individuals. The insights gained from the MOMENTUM project are expected to strengthen routine immunization and health systems, as well as address vaccine hesitancy.
USAID/India Acting Mission Director, Alexandria Huerta, said, “The United States and India are partnering to improve health outcomes for the world, fostering healthy and prosperous communities. Locally-led development is at the heart of this collaboration, enabling communities to lead and shape their own futures. The MOMENTUM project exemplifies this approach by engaging more than two dozen local partners, enabling the United States to reach 60 million people. This model illustrates how harnessing local expertise and leadership can drive systemic change, achieve sustainable progress, and set a powerful example of the importance of how localized efforts can achieve global impact.”
Dr. Sanjay Kapur, Managing Director of John Snow India, said, “With a network of over 380 local partnerships, we aimed to reach and vaccinate the unreached 20% of the population by identifying vaccine-hesitant areas, prioritizing populations, engaging local influencers, and coordinating with state governments and local partners.”
Representatives from local civil society organizations shared their experiences in mobilizing communities and strategies for promoting vaccine acceptance and overcoming hesitancy. The event highlighted the importance of localization and behavior change communication and the need to tailor health policies to local contexts to achieve successful health outcomes.