Staying the course, strengthening the response to pandemics

In 2024, L’Initiative transformed its commitments into tangible actions, with a major effort in developing human resources for health. Training, institutional anchoring, and recognition were key levers used to build fairer, stronger and more accessible health systems. Particular attention was paid to gender inequalities that hinder access to care and careers in healthcare. This confirms L’Initiative’s ability to tackle the root causes of health system weaknesses through an integrated and cross-sectoral approach to pandemic response.

In 2024, strategic conferences and events were held in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. These gatherings always offer a valuable opportunity to share results achieved in the field and to showcase approaches that have proven effective among the most vulnerable populations. They foster greater synergy among stakeholders engaged in the fight against pandemics and open up new perspectives for strengthening local capacities, improving access to care, and developing context-specific solutions.

In humanitarian crisis settings, L’Initiative responds swiftly and flexibly to support health actors and maintain access to essential services. Its response efforts target the most vulnerable populations, who are often disproportionately exposed and discriminated against in deteriorating contexts. To address long-term issues, L’Initiative works to strengthen the resilience of health systems affected by crises. With tailored interventions and targeted expertise, it helps sustain projects on the field while improving prevention, preparedness and response capacities.

In 2024, L’Initiative stepped up its support to civil society organizations (CSOs), focusing on their structuring, legitimacy, and influence. It backs their efforts to play a meaningful role in decision-making processes–particularly within the Country Coordinating Mechanisms of the Global Fund. Through this engagement, L’Initiative promotes a more inclusive, equitable, and effective health governance, where civil society is fully integrated and recognized.

L’Initiative works to remove obstacles to health and human rights by placing inclusion, equality, and social justice at the core of its actions. Its actions primarily target the most vulnerable populations: sex workers, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people who use drugs, and those exposed to gender-based violence. To ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of its support, L’Initiative addresses social, legal, and cultural barriers to accessing care. It actively promotes community participation and systematically integrates gender and sexual and reproductive rights perspectives into all of its projects.

Children and adolescents are too often overlooked in pandemic responses, despite being particularly vulnerable. Diagnosis is often delayed, their specific needs are insufficiently addressed, and continuity of care is inconsistent. To tackle this, L’Initiative has made pediatric health a priority in its response. It supports the development of age-specific approaches rooted in local contexts and realities to overcome barriers and co-develop practical solutions with professionals, communities, and young people themselves.

People who use drugs are often criminalized and stigmatized, making them some of the most excluded from health systems. Yet they are among the most vulnerable to HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and mental health disorders. L’Initiative supports the integration of harm reduction into national health policies – including access to prevention, medical care, and psychosocial support. By working directly with affected communities, it also contributes to shifting public perceptions and upholding fundamental rights.

Climate change and environmental degradation are altering the dynamics of infectious diseases – expanding transmission zones, increasing resistance, disrupting access to care, and weakening health systems. L’Initiative supports innovation and the implementation of context-adapted solutions. It funds operational research, training and knowledge sharing, and the development of surveillance systems that incorporate climate data.

Breaking taboos and promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are central to L’Initiative’s commitments. The projects it supports strengthen prevention, screening, and access to care through integrated approaches. Particular emphasis is placed on the prevention of mother-to- child transmission of infections, as well as on cervical cancer screening and treatment. By backing innovative initiatives rooted in local realities, L’Initiative contributes to strengthening health systems and promoting fairer, more inclusive care pathways for those most at risk.

In remote areas, crisis settings, or in response to neglected health challenges, community health workers (CHWs)—peer educators, outreach agents, and trained facilitators—are often the first, and sometimes the only, link to prevention and care. In 2024, L’Initiative stepped up its support for their professionalization through skill- building, formal recognition of their role, and integration into national health policies. Ensuring quality care that meets local needs requires fully recognizing those who provide it every day.