Countries where we work
Cities where we partner with city government
People covered by a policy Vital Strategies helped to achieve
Vital Strategies partners with national, sub-national and local governments—along with civil society, media and academia—across more than 80 countries around the world. In close collaboration with our local partners, we co-create programs and policies to reimagine evidence-based, locally driven policies and practices to advance public health.
Our world-class experts in public health, policy and communication build deep relationships with government and local stakeholders to strengthen their health systems for long-term sustainability. We work with our partners to identify the most pressing health issues that countries and communities face and devote our extensive experience to supporting them to tailor proven solutions to their local context.
We apply our expertise through data-driven decision-making, policymaking for health, strategic communication and more. And across all of our programs, everything we do is through an equity lens, whether it’s using data to prevent gender-based violence, protecting children from toxic lead, equipping countries to provide a legal identity to all, or demanding a health-based approach to substance use disorders.
2023 Program Spotlights
Air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to human health worldwide. Vital Strategies engages local governments and the health sector to advance actions to counter climate change and clear the air.
High-quality data is the foundation of public health. We support governments to gather and use evidence to generate insights, inform action, and set priorities to drive effective, equitable policymaking. When governments can turn data into action, the result is longer, healthier lives for all.
Gender equity is a cross-cutting issue in Vital Strategies’ programs, with some projects and activities specifically focused on protecting equitable representation of all sexes and gender identities. One key to strengthening countries’ capacity to address gender is equipping governments to gather, analyze and act on gender-specific data.
Vital Strategies partners with states, municipalities and civic groups in seven U.S. states to promote harm reduction strategies proven to reduce overdose deaths. In 2023, we provided support, resources and guidance to state and local governments seeking to invest their share of the $26 billion in nationwide opioid settlement money in communities around the country hardest hit by the overdose crisis.
Despite clear evidence of harm, many countries do not conduct active monitoring of lead poisoning. Vital Strategies partners with governments in India, Peru and the Philippines to protect children from this potent neurotoxin. Above, a participant in Vital Strategies’ media workshop in Goa, India gets her blood tested for lead. Read more about our Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention work.
Vital Strategies is an implementing partner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, a consortium carrying out proven road safety interventions around the world. Vital coordinates across the initiative, helps cities improve their surveillance of injuries and deaths, and supports governments to mount strategic communication campaigns to change risky road behaviors. Here, a motorcyclist engages with speeding campaign materials in Salvador, Brazil. Photo Credit: Transalvador. Read more about our Road Safety work.
Vital Strategies partners with governments, providers, and communities to support health-centered solutions to the overdose crisis in the United States. Above, Khalil, from the Newark Community Street Team in New Jersey, provides street outreach support with Newark EMTs as part of a program that ensures health emergencies like overdose are directed to health professionals. Read more about our Overdose Prevention Program.
The Partnership for Healthy Cities is a global network of 73 cities whose mayors have committed to preventing noncommunicable diseases—including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and chronic lung disease—and injuries through proven interventions. The Partnership suported the city of Córdoba, Argentina in its “Córdoba Choose Water” campaign, shown here, alongside other efforts to implement healthy school food environments citywide. Learn more at cities4health.org.
The Data Impact Program partners with governments to enable them to use data to improve public health by prioritizing health issues and identifying populations in need, allocating financial and human resources, enacting laws and regulations, and establishing programs and services. Above, Rolando Cruz (in yellow) of the Quezon City Health Department guides a team from the Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau in developing their policy brief on HIV treatment during a Data to Policy training. Read more about our Data for Health work.
Increasing consumption of cheap ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks, heavily marketed by a profit-hungry industry, is driving noncommunicable disease in low- and middle-income countries. Vital Strategies’ Food Policy team partners with civil society in Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica and South Africa to advocate for strong healthy food policies and promote healthier food environments. Above, advocates gather signatures on government petitions at an art installation demonstrating the harms of ultra-processed foods for children, alongside a campaign to advocate for front-of-package labels. Read more about our Food Policy Program.
The Global Grants Program has supported more than 100 projects in 48 countries, focusing on CRVS, data-to-policy translation and cancer registries. The program expands previous Data for Health work, and projects are country-owned and led locally, resulting in deliverables that fit local needs. Here, a team in Malawi focused on improving cause-of-death reporting conducts an audit of death registration and review of medical certification of cause of death forms at Mponela Rural Community Hospital. Read more about our Global Grants Program.
More than 5 million people die every year because of poor air quality, and the burden is highest among people living in low- and middle-income countries where increased emissions are outpacing air pollution control measures. Vital Strategies provides technical expertise and consultative services to inform policies and influence public discourse around air pollution and its health impacts. Above, a staff member from the Environment Agency of DKI Jakarta carries out a routine maintenance for an air quality monitor. Read more about our Air Pollution and Health program.
CRVS is the heartbeat of public health and development, and that’s why Vital is dedicated to #CountingEveryone. The civil registration of births and deaths, including cause of death, offers a host of rights to individuals, and a wealth of information that governments need to set health and social priorities and policies and measure their impact. Here, the Shanghai CDC Vital Statistics division team conducts medical record review in a health facility in Shanghai, August 2023. Read more about our CRVS Program.
Alcohol use contributes to millions of deaths each year, results in violence, burdens health systems, and costs billions. Vital Strategies’ RESET Alcohol program works in six key countries—Mexico, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Brazil, and Kenya—to develop and implement evidence-based alcohol policies, with a special focus on increasing alcohol taxation. Speaking at the 7th Global Alcohol Policy Conference in Cape Town in October 2023, RESET Director Jacqui Drope described the initiative is navigating the complex landscape of alcohol policy to leverage strengths, confront challenges and build collaborative approaches. Read more about our Alcohol Policy work.
Cancer is the second-leading cause of death globally. Monitoring the incidence of new cancer diagnoses, the stage of cancer at diagnosis, and survival rates provides critical information on priorities and the performance of the health care system. The Cancer Registry Program works with ministries of health to establish, strengthen and expand population-based cancer registries and use the data for policymaking. Above, Mozambique Ministry of Health staff discuss the DHIS 2 module during a technical meeting in Maputo in February 2023. Read more about our Cancer Registry work.
Vital Strategies’ tobacco control work, spanning more than 50 countries, comprises strategic communication, policy advocacy, industry monitoring, and much more. We work with governments and civil society organizations to implement proven policies from the MPOWER package of tobacco reduction measures. In the photo above, citizens from Sonora gather after cleaning Bahia de Kino beach to call for the need for smoke-free beaches to protect both human health and the environment. Read more about our Tobacco Control program.
Vital Strategies is a global organization of policy experts, researchers, advocates, communicators and innovators, supported by experts in operations and finance, working in partnership to reimagine evidence-based, locally driven policies and practices to advance public health. We profile our colleagues in an ongoing series we call Vital People. Read about the Vital Strategies team members we profiled recently.
“I still feel like I’m learning and interested in the next big thing—How can we use technology differently? How can we keep our big PAC team motivated, coordinated and learning? How can Vital capture the attention of other thought leaders?”
Vice President and Global Lead, Policy Advocacy, Communication and Strategic Initiatives
“I love to work here at Vital... We can promote unpopular policies that affect economic interests that sometimes, being immersed in the government, you can’t.”
Senior Manager, Partnership for Healthy Cities
"In HR, you get to be a part of two sides of our work. You are the employee champion, shaping the employee experience... And then you are partnering with managers on what are future talent needs and where they have skill gaps.”
Director, Human Resources Administration
“If I’m going to get to work in technology and do what I enjoy—figuring out puzzles, solving problems—I would prefer that my organization is doing something good rather than just making a profit.”
Systems Manager
“First, I focus on data because it shows the need,” he said. “Second, I focus on engagement… Once everyone is engaged and sees the progress we are making and sees the impact, everyone is on board.”
Senior Manager, Africa and East Mediterranean Region, Partnership for Healthy Cities
“I love to learn and to learn from my mistakes and to learn from others. That is what I most like about working at Vital Strategies. I don’t want to be in a place where I know everything.”
Grants Officer, Brazil
Vital Strategies’ global offices—in Addis Ababa, Jinan, New York City, Paris, São Paulo and Singapore—engage with governments, change-makers and advocates with deep local knowledge to advance scalable, sustainable policies that ultimately prevent illness and injury and save lives. Our offices serve as hubs for our dedicated team of experts—330 employees, plus consultants—implementing programs in more than 80 countries. We are primed to take on new opportunities from start to finish and bring global best practices to new locations.
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