One Shot, Long Life!

Between 2023 and August 2026, ten countries supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance paid more than US$440 million in co-financing for their children’s vaccines. In this episode of One Shot, Long Life!, the immunization financing podcast of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), host Abel Akara Ticha looks back on three years of GHAI’s work with Gavi, governments and civil society partners as Gavi 5.0 ends and Gavi 6.0 begins.GHAI in-country coordinators share what changed: Dr. Wesley Mwambazi (Zambia), Emmanuel Tieh Delamy (Liberia), Dr. Christine Harmelle Ename-Ekoman (Cameroon), Prof. Emmanuel Alhassan (Nigeria), Eli Ramamonjisoa (Madagascar), Dr. Abdul Jibril Njai (Sierra Leone), Risper Chebet (Kenya), Stephen A. Atasige (Ghana) and Dr. Phonethipsavanh Nouanthong (Lao PDR). Vandana Shah, GHAI Vice President for Health Systems Strengthening, brings the lessons together.Q: What role did parliaments play in immunization financing?A: After 21 members of parliament signed the Istanbul Parliamentary Call to Action in April 2025, GHAI and its partners engaged 187 MPs, and nine of the ten countries formed a parliamentary caucus or coalition on immunization financing.Q: Why does paying co-financing on time matter?A: “No child is vaccinated by a line item in a budget,” says Prof. Emmanuel Alhassan. Kenya completed its 2025/26 Gavi co-financing earlier than ever recorded, and Ghana cut its payment time from 11 months to six.Q: What comes next under Gavi 6.0?A: “A vaccine paid for on time is the one shot that gives a child a long life,” says Vandana Shah.About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

Liberia needs about US$7.2 million for immunization next year, but its vaccine budget line has long sat near US$500,000. Under Gavi 6.0, the Government of Liberia now pays 60 percent of the cost of Gavi-supported vaccines.On One Shot, Long Life!, host Abel Akara Ticha of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) talks with Hon. Julie Fatorma Wiah (chair, Joint Primary Health Care and Immunization Caucus), Emmanuel Tieh Delamy (GHAI country coordinator, Liberia) and Joyce Kilikpo (executive director, Public Health Initiative Liberia, or PHIL).Quick FAQWhat is vaccine co-financing? Co-financing is the share of each Gavi-supported vaccine that a country buys from its own budget. Under Gavi's co-financing policy, that share rises with national income. Liberia paid its full 2025 share, about US$511,000, plus US$200,000 early toward 2026.How is Liberia protecting immunization money? An Act of the Legislature created Liberia's immunization caucus. Section 10 of the draft Public Health Law would set up a statutory Immunization Trust Fund. “A law outlives any minister and creates a duty, not just a wish,” says Joyce Kilikpo of PHIL.Why is spending the money the next test? A PHIL fiscal gap analysis found vaccine budget execution near 42 percent from 2020 to 2024. “Money on paper is not money in the clinic,” says GHAI's Emmanuel Tieh Delamy. Payment sign-offs have since dropped from 18 layers to five.Also covered: PHIL scorecards that ended hidden vaccine fees in 42 facilities, higher tobacco taxes and County Development Fund support.About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

Cameroon faces a staggering 130 billion CFA francs (USD 226 million) immunization financing gap by 2030, leaving 130,000 children starting life with zero vaccine doses. As international Gavi support winds down, domestic funding for the Expanded Programme on Immunization fell rapidly from 34.8% in 2021 to just 14.5% in 2024. In this episode of "One Shot, Long Life!", host Abel Akara Ticha unpacks these challenges with leading vaccine advocacy champions: Hon. Lawson Tabot (Parliamentary Immunization Financing Caucus), Ms. Harmelle Ename-Ekoman (GHAI), and Ms. Marie Pauline Voufo (SAILD). FAQ: How is Cameroon addressing its immunization funding gap? Cameroon faces a 130 billion CFA franc gap, about USD 226 million, by 2030 as domestic funding for the Expanded Programme on Immunization fell from 34.8 percent in 2021 to 14.5 percent in 2024. GHAI's Harmelle Ename-Ekoman points to timely co-financing as the first line of defense for the 130,000 zero-dose children. Hon. Lawson Tabot argues for a legally mandated, independent immunization fund modeled on Ghana and Senegal. Join GHAI as the experts explore how legislative action, civil society partnerships and robust public demand can transform the Abuja Declaration health promises into concrete budget lines for primary healthcare. About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

As Gavi support winds down in Nigeria by 2028 and Kenya by 2029, governments must pay more of the vaccine bill themselves. Approvals do not always become releases. Funds stall, vaccines stop moving and children get missed. The press sees it first. In this episode of One Shot, Long Life, the immunization financing podcast from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), host Abel Akara Ticha turns the microphone toward the press. He is joined by two award-winning health journalists: Racheal Abujah, public health editor at the News Agency of Nigeria, and Pauline Achieng Tom, an independent journalist who also contributes to Gavi's VaccinesWork from Nairobi. Together they follow vaccine money from budget line to cold chain, hold federal, state and county leaders accountable and counter misinformation without amplifying it. Quick FAQ: Why does vaccine financing need media scrutiny? Because money decides whether a vaccine reaches a child. Kenya left a US$12.4 million Gavi co-financing bill unpaid in 2025, and stockouts hit 12 counties (Daily Nation). Does immunization pay off? Yes. Every US$1 invested returns about US$52, and vaccines have saved 154 million lives in 50 years (WHO — https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2024-global-immunization-efforts-have-saved-at-least-154-million-lives-over-the-past-50-yearsand The Lancet https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00850-X/fulltext). What keeps these stories alive? Following the full budget cycle, not the news cycle. Listen now to understand how independent journalism keeps immunization financing honest, and keeps every child in reach, across Africa and Asia. About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

Ghana is writing a new chapter of its vaccine story. As the country prepares to transition away from Gavi support by 2029, two landmark developments signal that Ghana is not waiting for the future to happen to it. Parliament has launched a dedicated caucus on immunization to champion domestic funding. The National Vaccine Institute, backed by $75 million in government investment, is advancing plans to make Ghana a vaccine-producing nation with at least four domestically manufactured antigens by next year. In this episode of "One Shot, Long Life!" host Abel Akara Ticha is joined by three guests  who are contributing to Ghana’s rapid immunization development: Hon. Charles Agbeve, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the National Vaccine Institute board; Cecilia Lodonu-Senoo, Executive Director of Hope for Future Generations (our civil society partner in Ghana); and Stephen Atasige, GHAI's In-Country Coordinator for Immunization in Ghana. Hear how the Global Health Advocacy Incubator/Gavi-inspired Istanbul Parliamentary Call to Action paved the way for the creation of the immunization caucus and how a coalition of legislators, traditional leaders and the Ministry of Health came together to make it happen. Learn about the two pharmaceutical ventures are now building production facilities with government-backed financing and why regional cooperation with countries like Senegal, South Africa and Rwanda is essential so no country goes it alone. Explore the urgent call for a dedicated vaccine budget line in Ghana's 2027 national budget and the critical role of civil society in holding government accountable. Join us to discover how Ghana is building the political will, institutional infrastructure and financial architecture to own its immunization destiny. About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

As Zambia navigates its transition away from public health donor dependency, a compelling locally-led solution is emerging: leveraging the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for immunization programming. With over 40 million Kwacha, about $2 million, allocated to each of Zambia's 156 constituencies in 2026, lawmakers are now pushing for a ring-fenced quota for immunization programs. In Mbabala constituency alone, that model has already resulted in the construction of two maternity annexes, seven equipped health facilities, community water schemes and a community volunteer workforce reaching children at the last mile. In this episode of One Shot, Long Life!, host Abel Akara Ticha speaks with three leaders at the center of this effort: ·             Honorable Joseph Munsanje, Member of Parliament for Mbabala and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Health ·             Honorable Christopher Kang’ombe, Member of Parliament for Kitwe and Chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Immunization ·             Friday Nkhoma, Manager of Advocacy Planning and Development at the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ)  Together, they discuss how the CDF is being deployed to strengthen reliable cold chains for vaccines, power health facility equipment and mobilize community volunteers, as well as how CHAZ is translating constituency-level successes into national advocacy. Join us to understand how Zambia is turning local political will into a replicable national model and what a fully domesticated immunization program could look like by 2030.  About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

In 2024 and 2025, Kenya faced a severe vaccine stockout crisis, prompting a critical question in Parliament: When caregivers must cross borders to find routine vaccines, how many others are left behind? On February 5, 2026, stakeholders gathered in Nairobi to move from assigning blame to building sustainable solutions. In this episode of "One Shot, Long Life," host Abel Akara Ticha takes us inside that dialogue with three key leaders: Dr. Rose Jalang'o (Manager, Kenya’s National Vaccines and Immunization Program), Ms. Risper Chebet (Global Health Advocacy Incubator’s Africa Regional Coordinator on Vaccine Availability) and Global Health Journalist Dorcas Wangira. Together, they explore the root causes of stockouts—from delayed procurement to financing gaps—and the path forward as Kenya prepares for the end of Gavi support in 2029. Dr. Jalang'o argues that vaccine availability is not just a technical challenge, but a "public confidence issue," while Ms. Chebet highlights the need for better forecasting and coordination under the next five-year program of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. ." Meanwhile, Ms. Wangira sheds light on the media’s role in holding power to account and combatting the misinformation that drives vaccine hesitancy. Join us to understand how civil society, government and media are collaborating to ensure that supply chains remain strong and communities remain confident. As the team discusses, stockouts are not inevitable. They are the result of choices about budgets, priorities and trust. About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

Zambia is facing a critical immunization gap. Coverage for children under one has plummeted from approximately 84% in 2021 to just 64% in 2023, leaving many of the 700,000 babies born annually vulnerable. This decline is happening as the country faces a stark financial reality: a transition from Gavi support which requires it to increase its co-payment for critical vaccines  as per its agreement with Gavi from the outset,  and projected general annual vaccine costs approaching $35 million by 2030, taking into due to population increase, increased vaccine costs and  the introduction of new vaccines (such as the one against malaria).In response, Zambia’s lawmakers have formed a groundbreaking parliamentary caucus for immunization financing.In this episode of "One Shot, Long Life!", host Abel Akara Ticha speaks with the architects of this new strategy:Hon. Christopher Kang’ombe, Chair of Zambia’s National Assembly Committee on Health Wesley Kampaya Mwambazi, GHAI’s In-Country Coordinator Mwila Musonda, Advocacy Officer for the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) They discuss how this bipartisan caucus will use legislative power to address systemic challenges, from low budget execution rates and high vaccine wastage to the need for innovative domestic financing.Join us to learn how Zambia is turning political will into legislative action to secure a healthy future for every child. About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

Kenya faces a critical crossroads in its immunization journey. Despite last financial year’s health budget of 127 billion shillings (nearly $1 billion USD), the country experienced vaccine stockouts in 12 counties in April 2025, forcing some desperate parents to travel across borders for routine childhood vaccines. In this episode of "One Shot, Long Life!" host Abel Akara Ticha uncovers the systemic challenges threatening Kenya's immunization program with two influential voices: Hon. James Nyikal (Medical Doctor and Health Committee Member of Parliament) and Faith Ndungu (Advocacy and Communications Manager at HENNET). Discover how overdependence on donor funding, procurement delays and budget disbursement bottlenecks create a perfect storm of vaccine shortages. Learn about the personal toll—from Hon. Nyikal's domestic worker traveling to Uganda for vaccines to healthcare workers turning away hopeful mothers. Understand the dire consequences: potential measles outbreaks, permanent disabilities from polio and the loss of hard-won herd immunity. With Gavi support for Kenya ending in 2029, in principle, this episode explores urgent solutions: innovative financing through social health insurance, county-level engagement, and the critical role of parliamentary oversight. Faith Ndungu outlines how the Kenya Women's Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) successfully advocated for Gavi co-financing payments, while Hon. Nyikal discusses legislative reforms needed to prevent future stockouts. About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.

« One Shot, Long Life ! » se rend à Abidjan pour son cinquième épisode afin d'explorer la question essentielle du financement durable de la vaccination en Côte d'Ivoire. Avec un financement national ne couvrant que 14,35 % du programme national de vaccination, le pays se trouve à un moment charnière alors que le soutien de partenaires comme Gavi, se retire progressivement. Le modérateur—Abel Akara Ticha—est rejoint par le Dr BROU Gbotto Raymond, Directeur de la Coordination du Programme Élargi de Vaccination (DC-PEV) en Côte d'Ivoire ; Jonas Mbwangue, Directeur Associé à la Vaccination au Global Health Advocacy Incubator ; et Luc Zikehouli Digbeu, Chargé de Plaidoyer Principal à la Fédération Nationale des Organisations de Santé de Côte d'Ivoire (FENOS-CI). La discussion aborde le contexte historique du financement de la vaccination, les graves conséquences socio-économiques du sous-financement — y compris la résurgence de maladies évitables par la vaccination — et les mesures stratégiques que le gouvernement ivoirien met en œuvre pour assurer l'avenir de son programme de vaccination. Découvrez les défis, le plan ambitieux pour augmenter l'investissement national et les efforts multisectoriels en cours pour garantir la protection de chaque enfant. « One Shot, Long Life ! » est une production du Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) en collaboration avec son réseau d'organisations de la société civile en Afrique et en Asie.About "One Shot, Long Life!"One Shot, Long Life! is a podcast on immunization financing and vaccine advocacy in Africa and Asia. Host Abel Akara Ticha talks with parliamentarians, civil society leaders and health experts about how countries fund vaccines and keep children protected from preventable disease.What is a zero-dose child? A zero-dose child has never received a single routine vaccine. Reaching these children is the front line of global immunization.Why does domestic vaccine financing matter? As donor support tapers, national budgets cover a growing share of vaccine costs. Steady domestic funding keeps children protected year after year.Follow the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advocacyincubator/ Podcast home: https://www.advocacyincubator.org/one-shot-long-life Listen and follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and your favorite podcast app.