Networking & Advocacy Activities 2021
Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) meeting October, Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland, 4 to 8 October 2021
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) meeting was organised by WHO from 4-8 October 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was organized as a virtual event.
SAGE advises WHO on overall global policies and strategies, ranging from vaccine research and development, to delivery of immunisation services and linking immunisation with other health interventions. SAGE usually meets twice a year and reports directly to the Director-General of WHO.
Sessions included: Global and Regional Reports, Monitoring IA2030/Zero dose children/Immunisatin during and post-COVID-19 pandemic, Polio, Malaria vaccine, Infuenza vaccine, Hepatitis E vaccines and behavioural and social drivers of vaccine uptake. The emphasis of the meeting was on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination.
SAGE is an excellent opportunity for NESI to gain insights in the rationale supporting WHO’s recommendations on vaccines and immunisation. These evidence-based arguments can immediately be incorporated in NESI’s education and training activities enriching discussions with the most up-to-date information, especially relevant for vaccinology courses and workshops focusing on new vaccine introduction.
15th Elsevier Vaccine Congress
The 15th Elsevier Vaccine Congress organised by Vaccine Journal was delivered online from 4 to 6 October 2021. The congress brought together leading experts from around the world, ranging from basic science to vaccine service delivery, to share their knowledge on the current ground-breaking development and discoveries in the field of vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines.
The congress was attended by over 200 participants from academia, research institutes, non-profit organizations, and pharmaceutical industry. The conference provided an excellent platform to exchange ideas through presentations and Q/A sessions led by session chairs, as well as through online interactive poster sessions among the participants.
Two abstracts from the research project “Assessing acceptability COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia” were accepted for poster presentations during the congress.
Poster Title 1: COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among university students and lecturers in four different provinces of Indonesia: A cross-sectional study. Khatiwada M, Nugraha RR, Mutyara K, Rahayuwati L, Dochez C, Kartasasmita C
Poster Title 2: Assessing COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Healthcare Workers (HCWs): Findings from Multi-Site Vaccine Hesitancy Survey in Indonesia. Nugraha RR, Khatiwada M, Mutyara K, Rahayuwati L, Dochez C, Kartasasmita C
GHD/EMPHNET Monthly Technical Day Meeting
Amman, Jordan, 2 October 2021
GHD/EMPHNET organises monthly technical day meetings on the first Saturday of each month, where all GHD/EMPHNET senior and technical staff in headquarters (Amman) and in countries come together to discuss relevant, priority and contextual technical topics.
NESI was invited to participate in the monthly technical day meeting on 2 October 2021 via Zoom. The main objective of this meeting was to share information, build and sustain internal technical capacities and promote collaboration and synergies between GHD/EMPHNET departments and teams. With a total of 41 participants, the meeting was attended by many GHD/EMPHNET technical staff (including those in countries), some support staff (Directors and some relevant Team Leaders), as well as country representatives from regional countries.
The meeting was opened by the Executive Director from GHD/EMPHNET, Dr Mohannad Al-Nsour.
NESI gave a presentation on HPV vaccines and current status of introduction and impact of the pandemic on the HPV vaccination programme.
Online Seminar on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Indonesia
Indonesia, 10 July 2021
On 10 July 2021, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia organised an online seminar in collaboration with NESI to present the findings of our joint COVID-19 vaccine acceptance research studies that were conducted among University students and Lecturers as well as Healthcare workers in four different provinces of Indonesia. The Keynote speech in the seminar was delivered by Ir. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, honorable Health Minister of Indonesia. An update on the current COVID-19 vaccination programme in Indonesia was provided by Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, Spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination National programme and Director for Prevention and Control of Direct Communicable Diseases, Indonesian Ministry of Health.
It was an excellent discussion session on COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination with distinguished speakers and panelists. Our findings highlighted the importance of education, awareness and trust on COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination and health systems delivering the immunisation services, and we hope that it will assist the Ministry of Health to develop evidence-based strategies to increase confidence towards COVID-19 vaccines and fight misinformation circulating around COVID-19. One of the main messages that was delivered during the seminar was “the best vaccine is the one that gets in your arm”. Over 210 participants from different universities and teaching hospitals attended the seminar.
Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) meeting March, Geneva, Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland, 22 to 24 March 2021
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) meeting was organised by WHO from 22-24 March 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was organized as a virtual event. Around 150 participants attended the meeting online.
SAGE advises WHO on overall global policies and strategies, ranging from vaccine research and development, to delivery of immunisation services and linking immunisation with other health interventions. SAGE usually meets twice a year and reports directly to the Director-General of WHO.
Sessions included: Global and Regional Reports, Ebola vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines, Polio, Vaccine acceptance and uptake, Measles and Rubella. The emphasis of the meeting was on COVID-19 vaccination and post-introduction considerations, including COVID-19 variants, early learnings from COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine safety.
SAGE is an excellent opportunity for NESI to gain insights in the rationale supporting WHO’s recommendations on vaccines and immunisation. These evidence-based arguments can immediately be incorporated in NESI’s education and training activities enriching discussions with the most up-to-date information, especially relevant for vaccinology courses and workshops focusing on new vaccine introduction.