Our Collaborations

Strategic alignment:

2023 – Present

STOP2030

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, or intestinal worms, affect over 1.5 billion people, particularly in the world’s most neglected communities. These infections hinder well-being, reduce educational outcomes, and limit productivity. While current treatments like albendazole and mebendazole are valuable, they are ineffective against two of the five worm species. A new, more comprehensive treatment using a fixed-dose combination (FDC) of ivermectin and albendazole can treat all five species, addressing drug resistance and offering a pediatric-friendly formulation.

In July 2023, Bridges and six partners launched the STOP2030 Consortium to develop and implement this FDC treatment, supported by the European Union and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation. The project aims to improve data on the safety, effectiveness, and cost-efficiency of FDC in school-based deworming programs. Regulatory reviews in Europe, Ghana, Kenya, and WHO prequalification are expected to allow large-scale public health use by 2025.

Bridges leads efforts to ensure that this data informs decision-making on policy, access, and financing for FDC treatment. In 2023, Bridges helped establish the consortium’s legal framework and supported early trial planning in Ghana and Kenya.

For more information, check out stop2030.org

2020 – 2024

Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030)

Bridges has played a vital role in advancing the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), a global strategy focused on ensuring universal access to vaccines for all ages. As the Secretariat, hosted by WHO, Bridges guided the governance design and implementation of the partnership. Our role included management of the IA2030 Coordination Group, Partnership Council, technical Working Groups, and the development of reports on implementation progress to agency heads, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), and the World Health Assemblies. We also facilitated regional strategy development for the Americas.

In early 2023, Bridges organized the first in-person meeting for IA2030 partners since the COVID-19 pandemic, enhancing clarity in roles, strengthening partnerships, and promoting accountability and collective action. The meeting catalyzed the launch of the Big Catch-Up initiative to address the decline in global immunization rates due to the pandemic, supported by a Gavi Board commitment of $290 million for recovery efforts.

With backing from the Wellcome Trust, Bridges worked with The Geneva Learning Foundation, to foster a Movement for Immunization Agenda IA2030 that grew to over 16,300 members from 99 countries. Activities included peer learning events where

Strategic alignment:

2021-2024

The Pacific Integrated NTD Elimination Project (PINE)

Bridges’ has been leading the Pacific Integrated NTD Elimination Project (PINE) since 2021. Partners include the WHO, the Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Vanuatu Ministries of Health (MOH), the PNG Institute of Medical Research, Kirby Institute and Case Western University. This initiative is supported by the Takeda Pharmaceuticals LTD Corporate Social Responsibility Program. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple catastrophic climate events, the team has collaborated to ensure communities receive the promised healthcare interventions. Project activities are anticipated to complete by the end of 2024.

The PINE project aims to control or eliminate a group of NTDs, including soil transmitted helminths (STH), yaws, lymphatic filariasis (LF), scabies, and leprosy, through

innovative integrated community-wide campaigns (mass drug administration or MDA), skin screening and referrals, sero-prevalence surveys, and health system strengthening

in Vanuatu and a province of PNG. The project supports the WHO integrated MDA policy and improves alignment with national health systems reporting and medication supply. Integrated skin disease training has resulted in increased confidence among health workers in diagnosing and treating skin diseases, leading to more sustainable interventions. Acknowledging the limited resources and challenges throughout the health system in both countries, our focus on integration enables countries to maximize limited resources available to address multiple NTDs.

2020 – 2025

RBM Partnership
to End Malaria

Since 2020, Bridges has provided strategy development and governance support to the global malaria partnership, strengthening its strategic direction and ensuring broad engagement across multiple stakeholders, most notably through a new representational Board with more than half its members from malaria-affected communities and countries.

In 2022, Bridges coordinated a consultative process leading to the redesign of the RBM Partnership’s governance to give greater voice to the countries most affected by this disease. In 2023, our work focused on supporting a smooth transition to a new, more representative Board. The new 23-member Board term was successfully initiated in May 2023 through a retreat managed by Bridges and followed by an inaugural Board meeting.

Bridges’ strategic advisory support extends beyond governance, including updating operational policies with improved ways of working related to the various operational arms of the Partnership and supporting with realignment, prioritization and recommitting to the implementation of the remaining 2024-2025 years of the current partnership strategy.

This work has improved the functionality of the RBM partnership across all its governance mechanisms (Board, Secretariat, Partner Committees and Working Groups) and has brought a renewed trust of the Partnership, a more promising funding outlook, and more vibrant engagement across the malaria community.

Strategic alignment:

2021-Present

The Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) Integration Group (FIG)

Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) is a hidden disease caused by the Schistosoma parasite which affects millions of girls and women in Africa with limited access to safe, clean water. This disease can greatly increase the risk of HIV and cervical cancer, and cause infertility, miscarriage and stillbirth. FGS is easily treated and preventable. But it is often unrecognised and misdiagnosed as a sexually transmitted infection.

In 2021, with Frontline AIDS, Bridges co-founded the FGS Integration Group (FIG) as a multi sectoral partnership bringing together organizations working across sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and NTDs. Bridges held the co-chair position until 2024 and remains an active and committed member in the group. FIG raises awareness of FGS with the aim of improving FGS diagnosis, treatment and prevention with and for women and girls through sustainable integration of FGS into SRHR and NTD programmes at scale. The group has successfully helped establish a UNAIDS/ WHO taskforce team working to integrate FGS into sexual and reproductive health and cervical cancer programmes and has held several high-level advocacy activities including at AIDS 2023 and 2024, the World Health Summit, and Women Deliver, bringing in new resources and increased attention to this neglected disease. You can read more about the work of FIG here.

2020 – 2023

FGS Competencies and Training Programs

Since our launch, Bridges has worked to build competencies for FGS, train health workers and create a minimum service package for this disease. Initially, Bridges planned and facilitated a workshop that brought together health professionals from many backgrounds and endemic countries to establish training competencies for FGS in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The competencies then became the base of novel, online training packages targeted at health workers at all levels of the health system in endemic countries. So far, we have carried out 2 training courses in French and one in English training over 700 health workers directly. The courses are structured around peer learning where health workers learn core competencies for FGS management, integrating FGS into health programs, and fostering community engagement, and each participant creates a tailored action plan for FGS in their work setting. By the end of the most recent FGS Francophone course, participants reached 49,000 through awareness campaigns and trained over 2,600 colleagues. You can read about our most recent FGS training course here.

Strategic alignment: