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COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in the global South have seen unprecedented co-operation between governments and the private sector. While biopharma companies invested in vaccine research, development, and manufacturing; cold chain and logistics companies put in place a secure supply chain and private hospitals ramped up the last mile delivery of these vaccines with capacity building of health workers, digital innovations, community mobilisation, etc.

To understand the contribution of the private sector in the life of a COVID-19 vaccine and their journey in rapid response to the pandemic, USAID and PSI, in partnership with Express Healthcare, bring to you a session with private sector leaders on their role during the COVID-19 vaccination as a part of the City-to-City Learning Exchange (CoVLEx) initiative. The perspectives of both policymakers and the private sector will be captured and will form some key critical lessons for various stakeholders in the global south.

CITY-TO-CITY COVID-19 VACCINATION LEARNING EXCHANGE (CoVLEx) initiative

With the vision to build a global COVID-19 vaccination knowledge management system that will aid in shaping the discourse on pandemic response, the CoVLEx initiative will encourage discussion and sharing of learnings across these key themes:

+ Vaccine Procurement + Digital Innovations + Vaccine Supply Chain + Communications and Social Mobilization + Governance + Adverse events following immunization (AEFI) + Planning and Management + Capacity Building + Monitoring and Supervision + Escalating the learnings of COVID-19 vaccination into Routine Immunization

If these efforts by the private sector are sustained beyond the pandemic, they will help further strengthen other domains of healthcare and achieve the universal health coverage objectives of equity, access, quality, and financial protection. In order to ensure an efficient and equitable COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the private sector capacities can help in augmenting the government efforts to achieve this objective.

The session will also showcase presentations from representatives from other countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, where the private sector stepped in to fill the gaps. For instance, Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia have moved over the critical phase of the pandemic, tackling infectious new variants, and ensuring that the economies can stay open. The private sector has played a very crucial role in filling the vaccine shortages and stepping in when required. In African countries such as Kenya, Malawi, and Abuja, the initiatives by the private sector have boosted vaccination distribution potential harnessing their healthcare infrastructure.

While the dynamics of private sector support may differ across countries, the session will go a long way towards understanding “what” worked for these countries to ascertain if a few measures can be customised for India. Likewise, best practices from India can become a benchmark for these countries to improve their healthcare system.