Gavi Harnesses Innovation To Mitigate The Effects Of Climate Change On Global Health

Four global health innovators, from a pool of over 100 applicants, have been chosen as the 2024 Gavi Innovation for Uptake, Scale and Equity in Immunisation (INFUSE) Pacesetters. The winners – Atlas AI from the USA, Causal Foundry from Spain, Figorr from Nigeria and Signalytic from Uganda – were selected from a shortlist of ten finalists by a panel of global health, technology and private sector experts after a two-day workshop funded by the Rockefeller Foundation in Nairobi, Kenya.

“Innovation plays a critical role in helping Gavi protect millions of people each year from preventable disease,” said Augustin Flory, Managing Director, Innovative Partnerships & Development Finance at Gavi. “As climate change impacts the trajectory of infectious diseases like malaria and increases the severity and frequency of outbreaks, it has become increasingly urgent to find new solutions to these challenges. This year’s INFUSE Pacesetters each offer the potential to transform immunisation delivery and at Gavi, we are committed to working with them to scale their activities and accelerate their impact.”

Through the use of innovative solutions, the selected 2024 Pacesetters will address a number of critical gaps in immunisation efforts.

• Atlas AI (USA) has developed an advanced geospatial platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to identify and geotarget in the last mile in order to find ‘zero-dose’ children and missed communities; and predict how shocks will affect them.
• Causal Foundry (Spain) engages health workers with adaptive tools such as personalised recommendations, an AI-based resource allocation system and tailored weather insights, enabling more precise and effective immunisation activities to prevent climate-related outbreaks and issues of access. 
• Figorr’s (Nigeria) solution offers end-to-end and real-time temperature tracking for vaccines and cold chain infrastructure – sharing recommendations and insurance products to improve cold chain efficiency. Sensors monitor temperatures continuously, transmitting data wirelessly to a central system, improving immunisation activities by enabling timely intervention, optimising distribution routes, facilitating proactive maintenance and supporting data-driven decision-making.
• Signalytic (Uganda) provides a solar-powered, high-speed digital experience for related software in any health centre, making it possible to generate, store and share health data within and across remote health clinics.

The call for INFUSE 2024 applications was launched in March 2024, inviting applications that demonstrate innovative approaches to tackle challenges faced by Gavi implementing countries and their partners, focusing on climate mitigation and resilience. The criteria for participation included scalability and potential impact in vulnerable regions; cost-effectiveness with a sustainable financial model; evidence of, or potential for, success; adaptability for implementation in diverse environments, especially in lower-income countries; and the strength and experience of the team behind the solution.

At the two-day workshop in Nairobi, participants from the ten finalists connected and collaborated with other innovators and were immersed in and coached through challenges related to immunisation. The innovators were invited to present their solutions on how to support health systems to address health challenges exacerbated by climate change, following which a panel of expert judges selected the four winners.

Abe Tarapani, CEO, Atlas AI, said: "Atlas AI is honoured to be recognised for our work in ensuring every child is visible to the public health system and to immunisation programmes. Our geospatial AI platform allows partners to adapt to our changing world, helping health systems map the most vulnerable and at-risk populations. Joining the INFUSE community will accelerate our efforts to provide vital insights that ensure life-saving vaccines reach every community, even in the face of unprecedented challenges from climate change."

África Periáñez, CEO, Causal Foundry, said: "We are thrilled to be chosen as a Gavi INFUSE 2024 Pacesetter. Our AI-powered platform offers precise, data-driven resource allocation and personalisation to improve immunisation efforts in regions facing climate-related disruptions. We aim to bring advanced digital solutions to health care workers, ensuring every vaccine reaches those who need it most, even in the most challenging environments."

Oghenetega Iortim, CEO, Figorr, said: "At Figorr, we are revolutionising the cold chain industry in Africa with real-time data to ensure the safe, efficient and reliable movement of temperature-sensitive products across the globe. Being part of Gavi's INFUSE community is an exciting milestone that will enable us to extend market access and presents an opportunity to scale impact in lower-income countries, helping protect vulnerable populations from vaccine-preventable diseases."

Nico Christofi, CEO, Signalytic, said: "Signalytic’s S+ Platform enables health facilities in remote and off-grid areas to digitise health care delivery and improve vaccine distribution. We are honoured to be a Gavi INFUSE 2024 Pacesetter. This partnership will help us reach more facilities, ensuring essential vaccines and medicines are available where they are needed most."

How the INFUSE programme leverages private sector innovation to save lives

Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 1.1 billion children – and prevented more than 18.8 million future deaths. Today, we need to raise at least US$ 9 billion for our next strategic period to accelerate our impact, vaccinating more children, against more diseases, faster than ever before and protecting our world from pandemics and emerging health threats. These innovative solutions will allow Gavi to maximise its programmes and resources, and ensure the Alliance is also committed to building climate resilient health systems to ensure continuity of essential services during and outside of health emergencies and impact from climate crisis.

The climate crisis has significant implications for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunisation programmes. The benefit of INFUSE lies in its ability to create a bridge between technological innovation and practical, large-scale implementation to improve immunisation coverage and equity across the globe. By connecting entrepreneurs and innovators with Gavi’s vast network of global health partners, INFUSE helps integrate these innovations into national immunisation programmes, particularly towards zero-dose and under-immunised children.

The programme, supported by private sector partners including The Rockefeller Foundation, The UPS Foundation and The Coca-Cola Foundation, focuses on interventions that make immunisation more accessible and cost-effective, addressing gaps like reaching zero-dose children, improving last-mile delivery and optimising health resources. It creates opportunities for innovators to gain investment and support from governments, the private sector and global health organisations, enhancing the sustainability of their solutions.

Since its launch, INFUSE has cultivated a community of global health innovation players, including 21 INFUSE Pacesetters, dedicated to overcoming vaccine delivery challenges in Gavi implementing countries. For example, INFUSE Pacesetter Nexleaf monitors the vaccine supply for 1 in 11 babies born globally each year, with more than 34,000 remote temperature monitoring devices deployed. Thanks to Nexleaf, the United Republic of Tanzania is becoming the first lower middle-income country to achieve end-to-end visibility into its vaccine cold chain. Zipline’s drone delivery service has helped deliver more than 14 million vaccines in Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, reducing by 60% vaccine stock-outs at Zipline-served facilities compared to non-Zipline facilities. Building on the support from the private sector and the Gavi Matching Fund, initial investments in INFUSE Pacesetters totalled over US$ 60 million, leading to more than US$ 200 million in follow-on funding for global health innovators.

“As global health innovators with long-standing partnership with Gavi, Zipline is keen to see more innovations changing the immunisation landscape. Participating in the workshop was a great opportunity to share lessons learnt and successes achieved on our journey. We are thrilled to see a new wave of innovators coming up through INFUSE,” saidSineka Samuel, Partnerships Director at Zipline.

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