Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Although the HPV vaccine that helps prevent cervical cancer was introduced in 2006, only 21% of girls had received a dose as of 2022. The reason? The initial recommendation was two or three doses of the HPV vaccine—a challenging expectation for anyone, and especially for people in communities with limited access to healthcare. The KEN SHE study, led by Dr. Ruanne Barnabas and her team, set out to determine the efficacy of a single dose HPV vaccine. What they found was one giant step forward in helping save the lives of millions of women across the globe. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/grmM9GWZ

Equity exemplar! Mike Bloomberg’s $1 billion tuition offset for The Johns Hopkins University Medical School students paves a career path for the best and brightest of all means to advance global health. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gKPQ4gcN

Millions of African women have to forgo their careers to care for their loved ones due to a lack of quality and affordable caregiving options.  But there is a solution: to build a new care system that creates “opportunities for decent work, safe and dignified care, and economic transformation for all.” In a new Ideas piece, Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi, Executive Vice President and incoming CEO & President of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), shares how rethinking our approach to care is key to advancing gender equality and economic growth: https://lnkd.in/gS6cjKnb

The KEN SHE study, led by Dr. Ruanne Barnabas and her team, set out to determine the efficacy of a single dose HPV vaccine. They found that just a single dose was 97.5% effective in helping prevent the most dangerous strains of HPV—one giant step forward in helping save the lives of millions of women across the globe. Watch the full video to learn more about the team’s journey to help protect more women from cervical cancer: https://gates.ly/4bB85mM

In this month’s roundup, we're sharing some exciting new findings on the impact of research and development for neglected diseases. We also explore the critical role of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in saving millions of lives, and how to reimagine the approach to care to advance gender equality:

It’s time to rethink our approach to caregiving. Let’s give caregivers the pay, protections, and policies they need to best support themselves and those they care for. In the latest post on Ideas, Mavis Owusu-Gyamfi of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) explains how building a new care economy will create opportunities for decent, paid work, and drive economic transformation and gender equality across Africa. https://gates.ly/3xwLBp0

This week marks two years since the launch of the Kigali Declaration on #NTDs, a landmark partnership between countries, philanthropies, and the private sector to beat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030. Thanks to strong country leadership and collective action, 51 countries have now eliminated at least one NTD – helping more kids stay in school, enabling women to join the workforce, and lifting entire families out of poverty. With continued partnership, the world can accelerate progress on NTDs and ultimately create a more equitable world. Learn more about the commitments in the Kigali Declaration here: https://bit.ly/3zgH6PG

Kenyan mother, fishmonger and exporter, Veronica, knew she shouldn’t have to choose between her career and raising her son. High-quality, affordable childcare ensured she didn’t have to. Hear Veronica’s story, and learn more about how high-quality, affordable childcare has the power to transform lives—and economies—in the latest video in our series, Greater than the Sum: https://gates.ly/45MABAq

Access to affordable, modern contraceptives has the power to change not just lives, but whole economies. Just 26% of women in sub-Saharan Africa use modern contraceptives—the lowest rate globally. But those numbers are growing, with the number of women using these methods nearly doubling in the last decade. This increase is driven in part by new, long-lasting options that are making it easier than ever to access discrete and affordable reproductive care. https://lnkd.in/guUMb2KD

A single-dose HPV schedule is transforming women’s health, allowing Gavi and partners to vaccinate 86M girls by the end of 2025. Melinda French Gates and Gavi CEO Dr. Sania Nishtar got together in April to discuss how vaccine innovations are ensuring that people can live longer, healthier lives.