Empowering Communities to Champion Vaccine Confidence and Equity

Success Story

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), a recipient under IP21-2106, launched the NCNW Good Health Women's Immunization Networks (Good Health WINs) to increase vaccine education, awareness, and access within African American communities. They shared the project's successes below.

With a focus on building an "army of immunization champions," Good Health WINs empowers individuals, healthcare professionals, and community organizations to become trusted messengers of vaccine information. The initiative boasts a robust infrastructure, with 40 state and national organizations collaborating to extend its reach.

Through strategic partnerships and grant support, Good Health WINs provided over 2,000 community-level mini-grants to educate diverse communities about vaccines across the lifespan, including COVID-19, flu, and childhood immunizations. The initiative fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing through bi-monthly Community of Practice educational sessions, which have engaged more than 87,000 participants. These sessions equip community leaders with tools and knowledge to address misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, and advocate for equitable vaccine access.

During the NCNW 61^st National Convention from October 9–13, 2024, the organization passed a crucial resolution on vaccine confidence, reinforcing NCNW's commitment to health equity. Over 250 participants attended the Good Health WINs workshop/training session, which provided information and tools to promote vaccine confidence in communities. This supports NCNW's mission to lead, advocate, and empower women of African descent, their families, and communities.

Good Health WINs is a pioneering model of community engagement, merging grassroots mobilization with public health goals to create lasting change in vaccine equity, particularly in underserved populations.