Vital Strategies

10/02/2026

Last week at the UICC - Union for International Cancer Control’s World Cancer Congress 2026, we were proud to co-host a session with the International Agency for Research on Cancer on digitalizing cancer surveillance to strengthen cancer control. Our partners in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and the Tata Memorial Center in India shared how tools like the DHIS2 Oncology module or Setu web-based system can improve cancer surveillance.

Vital’s Magdalena Paczkowski co-facilitated the session and Julieta Lomelín Gascón shared her expertise on how we can equip decision-makers to use this data effectively.

So much of our work happens across regions and timezones. was a great opportunity for our Cancer Registry team to convene with partners—and connect with each other!

10/02/2026

Recently, a multidisciplinary team of researchers gathered in Cuernavaca, Mexico, to shape the research scope for the Integrated Exposure Assessment of Lead Contamination in Mexican Households Project.

The project’s central objective is to identify and characterize the major sources and pathways of lead exposure affecting children and households in Mexico, integrating biological, social, and environmental factors to capture the complexity of exposure and its impacts and applying the novel concept of anthroposomics. Understanding the sources and behaviors associated with lead exposure is essential to preventing it.

Vital Strategies is proud to support this initiative led by the Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública (INSP INSP), in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Universidad Iberoamericana, the University of Michigan and the University of Arizona, with funding from Coefficient Giving.

09/30/2026

Check out Vital’s Godfrey Ngoboka in The Formula, sharing Rwanda’s model of mobile death notification. When countries have strong mortality data, they have the evidence to save lives.

Read here: https://tomfrieden.substack.com/p/to-make-every-life-count-count-every

And find out more about here: https://dataforhealth.bloomberg.org/

What Rwanda can teach the world about measuring health

09/26/2026

On World Contraception Day, we’re celebrating Cameroon’s distribution of free contraceptives in health facilities across the country. By analyzing data, the Ministry of Public Health identified gaps in access and used that information to inform policy. That’s the power of evidence-based decision-making.

09/22/2026

Methadone has been shown to dramatically reduce cravings, withdrawal symptoms and the risk of fatal overdose; studies suggest that methadone can decrease opioid overdose deaths upwards of 59%. However, the current system of methadone dispensing was constructed with a highly regimented and punitive framework that ultimately hinders access and harms patient dignity and rights.

In a recent Q&A blog we spoke with Helen Redmond, author of “Liquid Handcuffs: Policing and Punishment in Methadone Clinics and the Future of Opioid Addiction Treatment,” about what she hopes to accomplish with her book and what the future of methadone dispensing could look like.

https://vitalstrat.org/4y9jfer

Vital Strategies spoke with Helen Redmond about what she hopes to accomplish with her book and what the future of methadone dispensing could look like.

09/18/2026

We are thrilled to announce and welcome the inaugural members of the Vital Strategies Global Advisory Council.

The council will bring together distinguished leaders from global health, government, philanthropy, business, law and technology to bring fresh perspectives to our work and help identify emerging opportunities to strengthen public health systems that countries own, lead and carry forward.

We look forward to learning from their leadership as we continue to partner with governments and communities around the world to help build the foundations for healthier societies.

Learn more: https://vitalstrat.org/4Ajww5x

09/17/2026

Cameroon's Ministère de la Santé Publique du Cameroun (MINSANTE) has launched two instruments that reshape how health research informs policy and decision-making: the National Strategic Plan for Health Research (PSNRS) 2026–2030 and the Digital Documentation Centre for the Health Sector (CDNSS).

The PSNRS 2026–2030 is designed to strengthen the use of data for decision-making, so that research doesn’t end with its production, but can be applied to transform public health. Crucially, the plan promotes health research that starts at the local level, uplifting the realities of regions, facilities, and communities. It also sets up a path for institutionalizing the production of policy briefs as a national strategy for turning evidence into decisions, driven by a dedicated committee of local experts.

The CDNSS is an open national repository that brings health research, reports, policies, strategies, and technical resources into one space for easy access. The CDNSS will be the single online library for accessing national and subnational health evidence, facilitating its use by academics, policymakers and the public.

Both achievements were supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative and technical assistance from Vital Strategies through its Data Impact Program, recognized during the ceremony by Secretary General Prof. Louis Richard NJOCK.

When evidence is made accessible and is used to drive decision-making, health outcomes improve.

Find the full plan here below:
↪️ French: https://vitalstrat.org/4cN7zWd
English:
↪️ https://vitalstrat.org/4A6u4PI

And access the online library here: https://vitalstrat.org/4h3yJJt

09/16/2026

A birth certificate is more than an administrative piece of paper or a data point. When birth registration is linked with legal identity, it unlocks all the rights and services a person is entitled to. And in a world with the emergence of digital identity, it’s more important than ever for civil registration systems and identity to be effectively linked.

09/15/2026

In this edition of , learn how Bloomberg Philanthropies teams from India, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka came together to exchange experiences and explore approaches to strengthening medicolegal death investigation (MLDI) systems.

Site visits, peer-to-peer learning and cross-country dialogue gave participants the opportunity to see different aspects of MLDI in practice and examine how MLDI data can inform public health decision-making.