Multi-country
February 2023 – present
Background
While new vaccines are becoming available, many countries struggle to afford them or lack the necessary infrastructure for effective distribution. Consequently, up to one in 10 children in Gavi-supported countries miss out on routine vaccinations.
In response, Project Last Mile partnered with Gavi INFUSE to test and scale innovations from its cohort of enterprises. The goal was to increase the availability, demand, and access to life-saving immunizations in Africa. Initiated as part of Project Last Mile’s COVID-19 response portfolio and funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation, this collaboration aims to build resilient immunization systems to prevent and prepare for future pandemics.
Leveraging best practices from The Coca-Cola System, Project Last Mile will offer tailored solutions to address specific challenges related to vaccine distribution, availability, and access across the continent. This may involve providing technical assistance focused on cold chain equipment, route-to-market, and demand creation through strategic marketing.
The first enterprise, Reach, has been selected. Project Last Mile is collaborating with Reach to develop an above-market playbook aimed at enhancing its ability to create demand for its WhatsApp-based products across Africa. To facilitate better knowledge transfer, Project Last Mile is partnering with Reach on a case study in conjunction with this playbook. The case study employs a strategic marketing approach inspired by The Coca-Cola System, focusing on a public sector healthcare hotline dedicated to increasing vaccination rates among babies and small children in Mozambique.
Project Last Mile will continue to support both organizations with technical assistance throughout 2024.
“We are thrilled to see The Coca-Cola Foundation and Project Last Mile bring funding and expertise to INFUSE 2.0. We value their leadership to support the scaling of cutting-edge technologies for immunization. We believe the private sector and innovations are playing an ever-growing role in safeguarding immunization systems against further shocks.”
– Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, Managing Director, Resource Mobilization, Private Sector Partnerships and Innovative Finance
This information originally appeared in the 2023 Annual Report.