As a senior program associate at Results for Development (R4D), Tahmina provides technical and operational support to the Linked Immunization Action Network. This learning network brings together immunization practitioners, policymakers and partners from middle-income countries to systematically share their experiences, identify common immunization program challenges and tap into peer implementation knowledge to improve and strengthen the sustainability and equity of country immunization programs.

Before joining R4D, Tahmina worked at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids managing partnerships and grants with civil society organizations in Bangladesh and India to pass tobacco control health policies. She has also worked in South Africa, Lebanon and Bangladesh with local partners to help improve access to health services and vaccinations, especially among refugee and migrant populations. Locally, Tahmina worked in a New York middle school to help students graduate on to high school and spent two years implementing a community resource program at a New York primary care clinic to connect families to essential nutrition, education and maternal care resources. 

Tahmina holds a master’s degree in global health (MPH) from New York University and a BS in public health from American University. She is a native speaker of English and speaks fluent Bangla.

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Ms. Dogbe is a program officer on the nutrition practice at R4D where she supports nutrition projects across multiple sub-practices, with a focus on nutrition financing including the USAID Advancing Nutrition Project. 

Before joining R4D, Ms. Dogbe was a senior program associate at ACTION Secretariat where she provided program support to the ACTION partnership advocacy, policy research and policy analysis. Relevant issues under her portfolio included health financing, health systems, World Bank, multilateral banks, maternal, newborn child health and primary health. Nadine also contributed to the development of partnership advocacy strategies, partner and donor management, public-facing documents and programmatic and research design efforts. 

Nadine holds a master of science in public health with a concentration in health economics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She is fluent in French and Ewe. 

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1. Engaging Stakeholders to Turn Research into Policy Amid Political Change
October 18, 11 am (GMT -5)
Virtual
Featuring:
– Ama Pokuaa Fenny, Senior Fellow
– Alexandre Delamou, Senior Consultant

2. Advancing Equity in Health Systems Strengthening: Four Key Approaches to Enhance Equity in Implementation and outcomes
October 20, 12 pm (GMT -5)
Virtual
Featuring:
– Linda Vanotoo, Ghana Country Director
– Leah Ewald, Senior Program Officer

3.  What keeps us from separating ends and means in health reform?
October 31, 8 am – 4 pm (GMT -5)
Level 3, Room LM
Featuring:
– Agnes Gatome-Munyua, Associate Director
– Cheryl Cashin, Managing Director
– Nathaniel Otoo, Senior Fellow

4. PHCPI PCN Community of Practice Showcase
November 1, 8 – 10 am (GMT -5)
Hilton Bogota Conferias and virtual (link to come)
Featuring:
– Laurel Hatt, Senior Program Director and Practice Lead, Sustainable and Equitable Health Financing
– Amanda Folsom, Senior Program Director and Practice Lead, Collaborative Learning
– Linda Babalola, Senior Program Officer
– Emma Satzger, Senior Operations Associate

5. Contribution of the Private Sector in Health Systems Resilience and Reform (Hybrid private sector satellite session)
November 1, 8:30 am – 4 pm (GMT -5)
Level 2, Room BC
Featuring:
– Sarbani Chakraborty, Senior Program Director and Practice Lead, Mixed Health Systems
– Amit Bhanot, Technical Director of the Frontier Health Markets program
– Farhan Yusuf, Chief of Party of the Frontier Health Markets program

6. Promoting intersectoral collaboration through knowledge translation: lessons from the Partnership for Evidence and Equity in Responsive Social Systems (PEERSS)
November 1, 12:30 – 4 pm (GMT -5)
Level 3, Room K
Featuring:
– Abeba Taddese, Senior Program Director and Practice Lead, Evidence to Policy

7. Rehabilitation in health systems: Responding to changing population needs
November 2, 6:30 – 8:30 AM (GMT -5)
Featuring:
– Tamara Chikhradze, Associate Director
– Adeel Ishtiaq, Associate Director

In addition, R4D is involved in the following oral and poster presentations:

• “Evidence that a global peer-to-peer learning platform was effective in supporting immunization programs’ successful and sustainable transition from Gavi assistance” (poster)
• “Co-creation: an innovative approach for improving multi-sectoral collaboration and coordination for accelerating progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Togo” (poster)
• “Reimagining Health Care Delivery Models for Equity in Ghana: Implementation Research on Primary Care Provider Networks” (poster)
• “Raising the visibility of NTDs in the discussion of domestic health resource allocation: Lessons from Colombia, Guatemala, and the Philippines” (poster)
• “An approach to integrating and scaling up mental health services as part of comprehensive primary health care in Liberia: Lessons and challenges in pandemic times” (oral); November 2, 2022, 11:00-12:30, Room N

Posters will be available for viewing from November 2-4 on the 3^rd level of the Agora Convention Centre.

Finally, come find us at the Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator booth, located at E7 on the 4th floor of the main conference center.

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Ms. Kennedy Mitton is a senior program associate at Results for Development (R4D), where she provides operational, technical, and management support to the Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator’s West Africa activity. Before joining R4D, she served in the Peace Corps as a rural community health volunteer in Northern Benin, where she organized and led education and health programs alongside community health workers at the local health and social services centers. She also worked in the Massachusetts and New York State Senate providing services at both the district and constituency levels.

Ms. Kennedy Mitton holds an MSc in global health from Duke University and a BA individualized major in political theory from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She is a native speaker of English and speaks fluent French.

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Mr. Kaddar has worked for thirteen years in the World Health Organization (WHO) focusing on health services and immunization program costing and financing, vaccine manufacturing, procurement, financing, and pricing. He has conducted training, technical assistance, and operational research activities in health system development, transition and sustainability challenges, private sector development, institutional development and capacity building, project and program design and evaluation.

Highlights of his career include:

• As a member of the GAVI immunization financing and the health system strengthening task teams, he advised multilateral organizations on global policies and processes, developed guidelines and tools, and provided support to regions and countries in health system strengthening, immunization planning, costing, financing and health system and program performance and evaluation.
• As an initiator and leader at WHO-HQ of the Vaccine Product, Price and Procurement (V3P) project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he coordinated activities with partners and countries and oversaw the development of an online information platform on vaccine product, price, and procurement information.
• In Morocco, he served as senior technical adviser to the ministry of health and led the project on decentralization and health system financing and management reforms
• As senior health economist for the Partnerships for Health Reform (PHR) project with Abt Associates, he designed, conducted, and managed regional training courses and activities on health economics for policymakers and managers in North Africa in coordination with RESSMA (Regional Network on Health Economics and Systems) and WHO-EMRO.
• He led a USAID/PHR special initiative on financing and sustainability issues for childhood immunization programs where he designed, contributed, and managed country case studies and provided advice and technical support to countries and partners on immunization financing.
• At the International Children’s Centre (ICC/CIE-CIDEF) in Paris, France he headed the department of planning and developed overall strategy, performed technical quality control, managed staff, projects, and programs. He conducted policy dialogue with representatives of donors and countries from West and central Africa, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Ecuador, Vietnam and Laos.

Mr. Kaddar is member of International Health Economics Association, (IHEA) and the American Association of Public Health (AAPH). He has also been a member of the executive committees of International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), the African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA) and RESSMA, Regional Health Economics Network.

Mr. Kaddar holds a doctorate in economics from Oran University, Algeria, an MA from the University of Grenoble, France and a public health diploma from University of Nancy, France. A native Arabic speaker, he is also fluent in French and English.

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As a senior program officer at Results for Development (R4D), she supports the Momentum Routine Immunization Transformation Equity (M-RITE) project which aims to address entrenched obstacles to routine child immunization and effective COVID vaccine delivery in the DRC, Mozambique, and Kenya. She also supports the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) community of practice to facilitate cross-country knowledge exchange among countries to share best practices in strengthening primary health care.

Dr. Babalola’s career has focused on expanding access to quality primary health care services to underserved populations in West Africa, supporting NGOs, national, and sub-national health authorities to design and implement public health programs. In addition, she also helped develop curriculum and strengthen capacity for health care providers working on routine immunization, HIV and TB care in Nigeria. She coordinated a training needs assessment in that country for immunization service providers which helped uncover areas for improvement in capacity strengthening for health workers. This work resulted in a 2019 research publication (see Publication below).

Prior to joining R4D, Dr. Babalola was a technical consultant for the West Africa Health Organization in Burkina Faso and the Direct Consulting and Logistics/ Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Center in Nigeria. In these roles, she oversaw a broad range of initiatives to improve access to public health services in West Africa. She also worked as a technical program officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria supporting efforts that resulted in improved quality of HIV care services and treatment for over 100,000 people living with HIV in that country.

Dr. Babalola holds a medical degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a master’s of science degree in global health policy and management from Brandeis University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she was an Edward Mason Fellow in public policy. She speaks fluent English and Afemai, her native language.

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Linked will bring together immunization practitioners, policymakers and partners from middle-income countries (MICs) who are facing common immunization program challenges. Through highly participatory, and action-oriented collaborative learning approaches, Linked will support member countries to identify practical solutions and best practices to mitigate and prevent backsliding in vaccine coverage, drive the sustainable introduction of key missing vaccines, and promote increased immunization equity and sustainability.

“R4D is delighted to be facilitating Gavi’s Linked Immunisation Action Network with Curatio International Foundation and the Institute for Health Policy,” said Annette Ozaltin, a program director at R4D. “Collaborative learning and knowledge sharing has proved to be a valuable innovation, supporting countries to collectively solve problems and share lessons learned. These innovative learning approaches are ideal for bringing together countries that face similar challenges as they continue to strengthen and ensure the sustainability of their immunization programs, while improving vaccine coverage and equity and introducing new vaccines.”

Building upon the success of LNCT, the reoriented network is expanding to include all countries that have transitioned from Gavi support as well as select countries that have never received Gavi support. In line with the objectives of Gavi’s MICs Approach, the Linked Immunization Action Network will support these countries to identify practical solutions and best practices to mitigate and prevent decreases in immunization coverage and drive sustainable introduction of key missing vaccines.

The network will continue to be facilitated by R4D, CIF and IHP. We look forward to continuing this journey with you as we work to support countries to strengthen immunization programs and improve sustainability and equity, and we invite you to share questions, requests and suggestions for the reoriented network by email.

Linked will engage country partners to: 

• Understand top immunization program challenges, including barriers and threats to maintaining high and equitable immunization coverage and sustainably introducing new vaccines.
• Facilitate peer-to-peer knowledge sharing to elevate tested solutions and best practices for strengthening immunization programming.
• Support the implementation of solutions and best practices — working with and through country partners — to address immunization program challenges.
• Strengthen skills and capacities within immunization programs.
• Capture and disseminate implementation experiences to ensure learning is shared globally and not lost. 

 These approaches will include in-person and virtual learning exchanges, learning circles, in-person and virtual study tours, country institutional twinning, direct country-to-country linkages, and collaborative problem-solving sessions.

This network will be made up of — and driven by — a group of in-country stakeholders, including decision-makers and technical staff from ministries of health, ministries of finance and other relevant government ministries and departments, immunization technical advisory groups, as well as country partners providing support to national immunization programs.

Linked is an evolution of the Learning Network for Countries in Transition (LNCT), a learning network operating from 2017-2021, for which R4D served as the network coordinator. LNCT  supported over 20 countries transitioning from Gavi support to full domestic financing of their national immunization programs. Learn more about LNCT’s impact here.

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About Results for Development
Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — supporting them as they navigate complex change processes to achieve large-scale, equitable outcomes in health, education and nutrition. We work with country leaders to diagnose challenges, co-create, innovate and implement solutions built on evidence and diverse stakeholder input, and engage in learning to adapt, iterate and improve. We also strengthen global, regional and country ecosystems to support country leaders with expertise, evidence, and innovations. R4D helps country leaders solve their immediate challenges today, while also strengthening systems and institutions to address tomorrow’s challenges. And we share what we learn so others around the world can achieve results for development too. www.R4D.org    

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At Results for Development (R4D), Mr. Idris is a program officer for the innovation practice. In this role, he is the regional advisor for West Africa under the African Technology and Innovation Partnerships (ATIP) program where he works to identify innovation system strengthening priorities in Nigeria and Ghana. He also works with ecosystem actors to scale new and emerging technologies with high potential for poverty reduction and inclusive growth.

Prior to joining, R4D, Mr. Idris was a consultant with the World Health Organization (WHO) where he oversaw the scaling of the AVADAR project to seven states in Nigeria, adding over 5,000 community health workers and volunteers into the platform. He worked closely with national and subnational governments and technology partners to gather requirements to fit end user needs and local contexts. He also supported digitizing COVID-19 vaccination data for community health workers across Nigeria. As project manager with eHealth Africa, he managed innovative digital health projects like eTally, Maps design and delivery, Sokoto SET, Meningitis fixed post tracking, and GIS tracking.

Mr. Idris holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Salford, UK and a BSc in health education from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. He is a native speaker of English and Hausa and speaks basic Arabic.

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As vaccine hesitancy has spread across the globe in recent years, many middle-income countries transitioning from support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have expressed concern about growing signs of vaccine hesitancy or declining demand for immunization in pockets of their populations and across social media. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown their concerns to be well-founded, with nearly all countries in the LNCT network are now reporting seeing hesitancy for the first time, or that their existing hesitancy has grown far more concerning.

“LNCT aims to offer practical, tailored support to immunization program managers to help them implement effective, evidence-based communications and demand-generation activities, recognizing that hesitancy does not look the same everywhere and that our responses must be adaptable as well,” said Leah Ewald, program officer at R4D. “LNCT’s resource offerings benefit from the rich experiences of LNCT member countries that have been addressing hesitancy for several years and are willing to share what they have learned about building demand.”

Video case studies on building vaccine demand and empathy

LNCT, in partnership with Common Thread, has launched two new video case studies on vaccine demand in Vietnam that present an exemplary model of how to engage vulnerable and marginalized communities. The stories detail the immunization journeys of young mothers, Cha and Do, in the H’mong community of Yên Bái Province. The films are available for any country to use for their own health worker trainings on communications, demand generation and assessing the barriers to immunization, and can be accessed along with LNCT’s trainers’ discussion guide in English, French, Portuguese, and Russian on the LNCT website here.

When developing these video case studies, LNCT reflected on the value of stories — both listening to and telling them — in an era of vaccine hesitancy and shared some of their thoughts on the power of storytelling in this recent companion blog.

E-learning modules on building immunization demand

LNCT and Common Thread also co-developed an online course, “Designing Behavioural Strategies for Immunization,” that ministries of health and other health managers can use to build their skills around identifying barriers to immunization demand and designing interventions to address them. The course includes the following three modules:

• Module 1, “Understanding and generating demand for immunization”: The first module introduces key behavior change concepts and models and walks through how to apply these concepts to individual country contexts.
• Module 2, “Using data to understand immunization behaviour and build demand strategies”: The second module outlines the importance of using data to design demand interventions, introduces key qualitative and quantitative research methods for understanding demand issues, and helps participants identify data sources that may already be available to them.
• Module 3, “Building knowledge and awareness about immunization amongst caregivers and families”: Lastly, the third module focuses on tactics to increase knowledge and awareness and tools to respond to rumors and misinformation.

The e-learning modules are free and available in English, French, Portuguese, and Russian. Access the modules by clicking here and creating an account.

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About Results for Development
Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents around the world — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — to create strong systems that support healthy, educated people. We help our partners move from knowing their goal to knowing how to reach it. We combine global expertise in health, education and nutrition with analytic rigor, practical support for decision-making and implementation and access to peer problem-solving networks. Together with our partners, we build self-sustaining systems that serve everyone and deliver lasting results. Then we share what we learn so others can achieve results for development, too.

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