The Global Health Advocacy Incubator's Year in Review: Highlights from our partners and grantees for 2023

As we approach the end of 2023, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) is taking time to celebrate the significant milestones and accomplishments achieved by our team and partners around the world. Together, they have been instrumental in advancing policies and legislative changes that enhance health, save lives and contribute to the creation of more equitable and healthier futures for everyone.

This was a major year for implementing systems, infrastructures and legislation to improve public health outcomes. Our program teams successfully worked alongside our partners to launch an action plan for health security in Kano State in Nigeria; approve a higher sweetened and sugary beverage tax in Pakistan; pass a new road safety framework in Mexico to help advance important regulations; and adopt a new law in Cambodia that will ensure every birth and death in the country is registered—opening up opportunities for healthier, safer and equitable lives for its citizens.

Getting legislation passed requires raising awareness and building public demand, and journalists play a leading role in getting the attention of policy makers and their constituents. Recognizing their importance, our teams held an award ceremony for journalists for child drowning reporting in Bangladesh and celebrated journalists in Ghana for raising public awareness and political will for epidemic preparedness financing. On World Heart Day, the Government of India rolled out a public campaign on heart health using graphics created by GHAI. In the United States, we advocated for expansive, systems-changing policies to prevent overdose and promote access to treatment for substance use disorder.

2023 was also a year for events, trainings and new partnerships. GHAI launched programs with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to expand funding for immunization and ensure every child gets vaccinated, as well as with the World Food Programme to transform school feeding programs and ensure every child gets at least one nutritious meal a day. GHAI held events alongside the World Health Assembly and the United Nations’ 78th General Assembly alongside global health leaders to discuss health disparities and how everyone—at every advocacy level—can mobilize for a healthier world. And we strengthened the advocacy capacity of our own team members through a variety of trainings and held the first-ever food nutrition legal symposium for African lawyers.

We are grateful for everyone who has contributed to this work—and are excited for the achievements to come in 2024 for a healthier world.