Integrating Solutions to Defeat Malaria, Meningitis and Polio

Date: Tuesday 20 May 2025Time: 12:30 – 13:50 CESTCo-organizers:
Ministry of Health and Social Development, Mali
Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria
Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Pakistan
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

The Ministries of Health in Mali, Nigeria, and Pakistan, along with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, convened an official side event at World Health Assembly 78 to place integrating solutions for malaria, meningitis and polio squarely on the global health priority agenda.We are at an inflection point in global health. As Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO, Gavi, noted in her remarks, “We all know the challenges that we face as partners in global health. Between now and 2030, we will have to work smarter, more collaboratively, and with the needs of countries at the center of everything we do.” As funding cuts threaten to disrupt the progress being made to eliminate malaria, epidemic meningitis and polio, a more integrated approach that maximizes available resources and improves delivery of health services for people and communities is not just a sound strategy, it’s an imperative.3 Key Takeaways

  1. Malaria, meningitis and polio continue to threaten lives and livelihoods, especially in vulnerable communities, despite having developed life-saving vaccines for all three, including a vaccine against all five meningococcal serogroups that can cause epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa.

  2. Integration can and should be achieved within disease surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and long-term care, and prevention through equitable access to vaccines. This will maximize efficiencies and reduce duplication, alleviate stress on health systems and improve health outcomes for people and communities.

  3. There are several examples of integration already underway including polio, measles and meningitis vaccines delivered through integrated campaigns, as well as bed net distribution. With technical and financial support integration can be accelerated. There is clear consensus for integration.

This event has started an important dialogue that must be turned into concrete action and measurable impact to address the needs and challenges that countries and communities face.

Speakers:
HE Dr Colonel Assa Badiallo Touré, Minister of Health and Social Development, Mali
Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean
Prof Brian Greenwood, Emeritus Professor of Tropical Medicine, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
Ambassador Zaman Mehdi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva
Dr Jo Mulligan, Senior Health Adviser and Team Leader of the Global Health Research Team, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK
Dr Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi
HE Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria
Mr Derrick Sim, Managing Director of Vaccine Markets & Health Security, Gavi

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