Finding Direction in a Disrupted Global Immunization Landscape

I joined Sabin in the second half of 2025, at a moment when global immunization was under significant strain. Stepping into this role during such disruption has been both sobering and deeply meaningful. The challenges are real and urgent — and so is the opportunity to help Sabin pivot and adapt, to lead in ways that matter for the future of global health for everyone, everywhere.

How is Global Immunization Being Reshaped

Global immunization is being reshaped by several super-imposed forces.

1. First, we are experiencing the shift from traditional multilateralism toward regional and national leadership. This transition moves ownership to the right level; however, it requires new ways of coordinating and supporting country-led priorities.
2. Second, funding is tightening across the ecosystem. Gavi did not meet its recent funding goals. Due to funding shortages, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have reduced staff, and many health NGOs have faced shortfalls that forced difficult decisions, including scaling back or canceling programs. These reductions in technical and financial resources threaten the sustainability of health systems and our collective ability to reach unreached and zero-dose children.
3. Third, climate change is increasingly disrupting immunization delivery. Extreme weather events and the displacement of populations impact fragile infrastructure and can interrupt health services and emergency responses.
4. Finally, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation continue to erode trust in vaccines. It is the ultimate paradox: when they work best, diseases disappear.  In communities that have not seen vaccine-preventable diseases for generations, doubt is growing — making trust-building as critical as logistics or financing. Vaccines protect entire communities, yet their value relies on individual trust in them.

How Sabin is Pivoting in this Moment

Sabin is responding by focusing on what we do best and where we can have the greatest impact.
Our advantage lies in trusted, long-standing partnerships with communities, countries, and regional networks, including initiatives like the Global HPV Consortium and Boost. We are building on our credibility, scientific rigor, and local partnerships.

We are also leveraging our vaccines-to-vaccination approach. Sabin works across the full continuum — from vaccine R&D and outbreak response to policy shaping, applied epidemiology, peer learning, and social and behavior change. This integrated model is essential in a fragmented environment.

In practical terms, this means we are:

• Doubling down on cervical cancer elimination, advancing a comprehensive approach with partners — from screening and access to treatment, to vaccine delivery.
• Sharing evidence on more effective and efficient vaccine rollouts, including clinical trials, dose pairing strategies, and approaches that save money while increasing demand and uptake.
• Expanding peer learning and communities of practice, enabling health professionals and countries to learn directly from one another.
• Prioritizing zero-dose children and vaccine equity, even in constrained funding environments.
• Addressing vaccine misinformation head-on, treating trust and social and behavioral change as a core pillar of immunization.

What Gives Me Hope

With the reshaping of global immunization, there are real reasons for optimism.

The impact of vaccines remains undeniable, with millions of lives saved every year. We are seeing partners come together in new ways — for example, screening and treatment partners collaborating with immunization partners in cervical cancer. Leadership is increasingly regional and country-driven, with regional bodies redefining their roles to countries working with each other to solve complex health challenges. We are also seeing momentum around self-managed care, expanding choice, and access.

Global health is not standing still — it is rebalancing. If we stay focused on evidence, equity, building trust, and country leadership, this moment of reshaping can be a foundation for a stronger, more resilient immunization ecosystem to protect lives and prevent deaths around the world.