International Women's Day: 8th March

In an effort to drastically improve the chances of children reaching their fifth birthday, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today stepped up its immunization programme by including vaccines to combat pneumonia.

On 4 April the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) joined the set of six countries that use the new vaccine against pneumococcus to protect their children.

Former Norwegian Minister of Health and current member of parliament Dagfinn Høybråten was unanimously elected by the GAVI Alliance Board as its new Chair, GAVI announced on the first day of its board meeting taking place in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

The GAVI Alliance has started implementing a proactive gender policy into its work to ensure equal access to immunisation for boys and girls. GAVI’s Gender Policy commits the Alliance to use a gender perspective in the design, planning, and delivery of vaccinations and other health services.

MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN – EVALUATION OF THE GAVI ALLIANCE GENDER POLICY Date: 28 February 2013 1 Theme Recommendation Management Action Timeline/Responsibility Rationale, Design and Planning 1 Revision to gender policy: update rationale, strategic directions and commitments GAVI should commence a Gender Policy revision

EVALUATION OF GAVI GENDER POLICY FINAL REPORT 14 December 2012 Submitted to: GAVI Alliance 2, Chemin des Mines 1211, Geneva 2 Switzerland Submitted by: ICF Macro, Inc. 11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 300 Calverton, MD 20705 USAi TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents i Acronyms and Abbreviations iii Executive Summary iv Key

The goal of GAVI Alliance’s Gender Policy is to promote increased coverage, effectiveness and efficiency of immunisation and related health services by ensuring that all girls and boys, women and men, receive equal access to these services.