At a glance
The Vaccine Equity Project’s Community Guide to Advance Health Equity reflects lessons learned working with community-based organizations to increase COVID-19 vaccination.
Success Story
The National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), a recipient under IP21-2113, launched the Vaccine Equity Project in 2021. They shared the project's successes below.
The Vaccine Equity Project leverages community-based organizations to increase COVID-19 vaccine access and uptake. NNPHI built a coalition of partners that included Health Resources in Action, Spitfire Strategies, African Family Health Organization, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Project HEALINGS, and Public Health Solutions.
Over the last three years, the coalition developed partnerships with communities that were reluctant to engage in government-funded projects. They heard that it is not only important to be a trusted messenger, but trust what communities asked of them. The coalition created 315 new partnerships, held 1,520 education and vaccination events, and engaged more than 1 million people in at least 45 languages. By listening to communities and engaging in shared decision making, the coalition prioritized the values of communities.
The coalition recently developed the Community Guide to Advance Health Equity. This guide outlines five core guiding principles and one foundational principle for sustainable outreach to communities who have not been part of the national public health narrative.
The guide and interactive website include customizable templates, a resource library, and guidance from community-based organizations FOR community-based organizations. These tools center equity, trust, relationship building, and real-life contexts to improve public health nationwide.
