While Zambia aims to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to 70% of its people by June 30, 2022, the road to getting there is uncertain. The Zambian Ministry of Health reports that, as of February 21, 2022, 21.6% of people were fully vaccinated. Vaccine doses available in the country are slowly rising, with 6.2 million doses arrived as of February 11, but less than half of those doses have made it into people’s arms. By February 23, only 2.77 million doses had gotten to people. By December 31, 2021, only 7.2% of people had gotten a vaccine, compared to a goal of 40%. Without significant investments in last mile delivery, especially for people at highest risk, Zambia risks missing its next COVID-19 vaccine targets.
In the first half of 2024, CARE Uganda launched a social behavior change campaign (SBCC) targeting discriminatory gender norms that limit women’s and girls’ access to and use of technology, particularly smartphones. Media-based messaging is a widely-adopted approach for shaping community behaviors and attitudes and promoting public and financial health practices in front of a broad audience. CARE Uganda used this strategy to encourage communities to reflect on their beliefs regarding technology, especially those that restrict who can use and benefit from mobile technology. Read More
This report is a summary of CARE's activities in Poland and the Central and Eastern Europe region in 2023. 2023 marks second year of CARE's activities in Poland after its return because of the escalation of war in Ukraine. The Polish office is also active in Slovakia and Hungary, and supports CARE's efforts in Ukraine. With no end to the conflict in sight, CARE Poland has continued to provide humanitarian assistance, support integration efforts, and optimize our programs to better adapt to a protracted crisis. In 2023, we’ve reached more than 800,000 people with our 34 programs. Read More
The "Mudzi Wathu Village Bank" brief outlines an innovative digital financial platform tailored for Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Malawi. Developed through a collaboration between TNM Mpamba (Malawian MNO) and CARE Malawi, the platform enhances financial inclusion by integrating digital technology with traditional financial practices. Key features include the expansion of mobile money agents, affordable feature phones, and secure transactions through the *444# USSD service. Read More