• ...more than 9,022 children who did not complete their immunisation traced and linked to health facilities to get immunised.
• ...over 1,069 children who have never been immunised have been traced and linked to health facilities for immunisation

Development Aid from People to People, DAPP in Zambia, was among 65 civil society organisations that participated in the just-ended 2025 Zambia Civil Society Immunisation Platform (ZCSIP) Conference in Livingstone.

This year's theme, “Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible”, highlights that every child—regardless of their social status deserves access to life-saving vaccines and protection.

The three-day conference also marked the launch of the ZCSIP Advocacy Strategy. This important tool will help civil society push for better funding, policies and increased local support for immunisation.

During the event, Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Kennedy Lishimpi, pledged to review the funding and policy proposals in the strategy to engage with the civil society organisations in constructive dialogue.

"In this regard, we commit to thoroughly assessing the policy and financing proposals being tabled and engage in constructive dialogue toward their realisation. In line with this commitment. We are also committed to improving vaccine equity. Immunisation must reach all children regardless of geography, economic status, or gender. Our collective focus must be on the zero-dose and under-immunised children, who often represent the most vulnerable populations," said the Permanent Secretary.

DAPP Zambia is part of the ZCSIP, a collective voice of civil society organisations working to strengthen immunisation advocacy, improve vaccine access and ensure no child is left behind on immunisation.

With funding from the GAVI, through the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ), DAPP Zambia is implementing the Total Control of Child Immunisation (TCCI) project in Solwezi and Kalumbila districts of North Western province.

The project seeks to break traditional and religious barriers that hinder community and men's participation in child health matters, particularly immunisation, working with.

 "We have over 174 Community Health Workers linked to 86 government health facilities in Kalumbila and Solwezi districts. They are working in communities conducting social behaviour change activities such as community sensitisation, dialogue meetings and person-to-person interactions to increase demand for child immunisation. Every child deserves to be protected from diseases. We are also engaging with traditional, local and faith-based authorities to push community ownership of child immunisation," said Jabez Kanyanda, DAPP Resource Mobilisation Officer.

He added, "since the project started, we have traced 9,022 children who did not complete vaccination and linked them to the health facilities for immunisation. We also traced and linked 1,069 children who had zero-dose vaccination to the health facility."