I joined 1,800 maternal health experts in Cape Town. What I heard gave me hope for moms and newborns.

An Agogo (grandparent) checks on a mother and newborn baby in the Mzimba District, Malawi.
An Agogo (grandparent) checks on a mother and newborn baby in the Mzimba District, Malawi. ©Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/Frederic Courbet

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Aboubacar Diop (center right) speaks to parents about the importance of HPV vaccinations at a clinic in Saint Louis, Senegal.

This vaccine can prevent cancer. But more adolescent girls need access to it.

The HPV vaccine is safe, effective, and protects against 95% of cervical cancers. Recent challenges have caused HPV vaccination rates to fall – but communities are poised to reverse those trends.
By Cathy Ndiaye Director of HPV Vaccine Programs, PATH
What is maternal immunization?

The power of maternal vaccines

Learn about medical professionals and families whose stories illustrate how far this field has come—and how much more progress is needed.
A child receives a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) from an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife Worker in Madhya Pradesh, India. The PCV protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria that all cause pneumococcal disease.

Time well spent: The complex journey of a life-saving vaccine

The story of how a life-saving vaccine called PCV was rolled out to every child in India—in record time, at low cost, and during a pandemic—illustrates what’s possible in global health.
By Gail Rodgers Deputy Director, Pneumonia, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation