We are advancing understanding of how social media can improve the health of communities around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need for new approaches to addressing today’s complex health challenges. It also underscored the immense potential of leveraging digital platforms to promote public health.

That’s why we formed the Advancing Health Online Initiative (AHO) — a fiscally sponsored project of Global Impact that explores how social media and online engagement can increase the health and resiliency of communities around the world. We are accelerating innovative research, disseminating knowledge, and inspiring cross-sector collaboration.

Boosting vaccination, at $1 per shot

Studies show the power of social media to promote public health. In 2021, researchers funded by AHO’s Vaccine Confidence Fund launched a digital campaign to assess whether political messages could boost COVID vaccination rates. They ran YouTube ads featuring a political leader in more than 1,000 U.S. counties that lagged in COVID vaccine uptake. The $100,000 campaign resulted in 104,036 new vaccinations.

Our Programs

We have launched three flagship programs to date, with more to follow. These initiatives will accelerate our collective ability to make a lasting positive impact on health behavior. Meta and MSD have each committed $20 million to fund programs aligned to AHO’s mission.

The Vaccine Confidence Fund

In 2021, and again in 2022, we issued a request for proposals (RFP) for research into increasing vaccination confidence and uptake through social media. The 44 selected organizations are covering topics that touch all regions of the world, with a focus on historically excluded or marginalized communities.

Visit the VCF WebsiteRead BMJ Publications

VaxSocial

AHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, launched VaxSocial, an initiative supporting country-driven projects that leverage social media to build confidence around routine immunizations.

Read More Here

Insights Dialogue

We have partnered with the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Bay Area Global Health to launch a platform for disseminating learnings within the global health and development community. Insights Dialogue includes webinars, research, games, a podcast, and more.

Visit the Insights Dialogue Website

World Bank Research

We partnered with the World Bank’s Mind, Behavior and Development Unit (eMBeD) and the Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) to grow our knowledge of effective social and behavior change communication (SBCC) interventions using social media.

Visit the eMBeD Site

Vaccine Confidence Fund Preliminary Insights Report

Our new report presents lessons and insights from our initial research into using social media to drive vaccine confidence. These important findings are a useful reference for future endeavors exploring how social media and online engagement can drive offline health action.

Download the Report

Collaborators

Join Us

Help advance public understanding of how social media can bolster health and community resilience. If you’re interested in getting involved we would love to hear from you.

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