It’s hard to believe we are already in September! It was a busy summer for ACTION partners as we continue to ramp up advocacy ahead of major key global health moments including the Global Fund 7th Replenishment, the launch of the World Bank FIF, the GFF replenishment, and UNGA.

At the RESULTS International Conference, I lead a workshop titled Health Equity: Who Owns the Agenda? Over 100 participants engaged with one another to discuss the importance of allyship and elevating marginalized voices in global health. A special thank you to Dr. Yogesh Jain for joining us and sharing his personal experiences as a physician in India to demonstrate the fissure between the reality of those experiencing health disparities and those who hold power.

If polio eradication is a marathon — the vaccine was first introduced in 1954 — then the finish line is in sight in 2022, but this is the hardest part of the race. The places where polio still circulates are the hardest to reach and require the greatest care in implementing vaccine campaigns. But the end is in sight, and the investment case recently released by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative shows that the price tag to eradicate polio, US$4.8 billion for the next five years, is much less than if we don’t: “needless paralysis and death and an open-ended need for billions of dollars in additional costs.” Moreover, the lessons learned in polio surveillance, preparedness and response, and accountability and oversight strengthen health systems.

As today marks two years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, it is clearer now more than ever how critical global health advocacy that is rooted in equity and anti-oppression is. We must expand equitable and affordable access to vaccines and strengthen health systems around the globe, not just in the west.