Martha Rebour: Global Vaccine Advocacy and Health Security with Shot@Life

0:03 Everyone has a story to tell. We connect and we relate to one another when we share our stories. My name is Lilia Oak, and I'm your host of Witness Inspiration. With me, I share stories to friends, family, and strangers through my everyday life and travels. We will laugh, possibly cry, but walk away feeling connected more than ever to those around you and ready to be the change our world needs. Everyone has a story to tell. What's your Martha Reward joined the UN Foundation in June 2014 as executive director, she oversees campaign strategy and implementation, corporate partnerships, advocacy, and communications activities for the campaign Shot At Life.

0:48 Prior to joining the foundation, Martha worked for 15 years in strategic branding, digital and social media marketing, messaging, creative development, partnership building, and consumer research for corporate and nonprofit clients. While at Discovery Channel, Martha crafted multi-million dollar marketing campaigns around events such as Shark Week and the award-winning series Planet Earth. In her spare time, Martha enjoys cooking, reading contemporary fiction, and spending time traveling and being outside with her family. Thank you so much for joining me today, Martha. Oh, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to have you here. Shot It Life is the organization that you're involved with, and they aim to ensure that children around the world have access to life-saving vaccines.

1:32 And I first became involved with Shot It Life when a friend invited me to attend one of the Champions summits, which is where attendees train as advocates for global childhood immunization programs and meet with legislators on Capitol Hill. And you and I met soon after I got involved, where we had the opportunity to visit Zambia with the UN Foundation to see the work that's being done in these areas, witnessing the challenges the locals faced with providing children with vaccines. And this trip was by far one of the most impactful of my travels. And there is not a week that goes by that I do not think about it or talk to people about it. The work being done by the UN Foundation of Shot Up Life, along with others, such as UNICEF, is really incredible.

2:13 And I'm so grateful that I was there with you to witness everything firsthand. Well, I was certainly grateful to have you along, and I agree. That was a very impactful trip for me too. And I've been on many, as you can imagine. But Zambia was very interesting too because we were traveling with people like yourself who have a very wide audience and who were really eager to share every day when after we'd go out and visit clinics and it would be dusty and hot. You would all be very keen, I remember, especially you, to get online and share what you had seen and tell the stories of some of these mothers we had spoken to.

2:53 So for me too, it really was a really impactful trip. I think the trip too was when you first joined as the executive director at Shot It Life. I think that was the very beginning of that chapter for you at Shot It Life. You're right. At that time, current director had just left. So I was stepping into a new role. I had been deputy director. So more a role that was a little more external facing versus the sort of internal running the team operations role. So yeah, that was kind of a pivotal time for me with the campaign. I mean, there were some incredible stories from that trip. I remember being told that these mothers, when their children receive these vaccines, they hold the little pink slip up, just like we would the diploma of our children graduating high school or college.

3:41 And that is a story that has stuck with me. And I tell it time and time again, especially through the pandemic. But that was one thing that really stuck out to me during that time. Yeah. And I'm I don't think it's in Zambia, but in many cultures, it's sort of on a more serious note, but a lot of mothers don't name their children until they've had the routine immunization. So that is really for them an important step. Like they have a really good chance of making it now to their fifth birthday. So that's also something. There are other cultures in Senegal, they dress their babies up because it's a big day, as we might for, I don't know, a religious confirmation or something else.

4:22 They dress them up in their finest to bring them to get vaccinated. So yeah, I think it is think is it's something we kind of take for granted, just you know, driving to the doctors, you know, your kids gonna scream. And we don't think about because we don't see a lot of these diseases. So we forget that for people living in other circumstances where they see these diseases come through a village and take out kids, it is such an important step that those, you know, first routine immunizations. Yeah, I I mean, I was even surprised at the challenges that they faced, even getting to some of these clinics because the clinics were so far out. And I know that you and I'm and the rest of our group met with a mother that had biked 11 miles each way with three children in tow, mind you.

5:11 And their biggest, not their biggest, but one of their challenges was timing to make sure they got back home before the elephants come out at night. Yes. Do you remember? So they were saying the male elephants were really virile and that it was a real threat if they, you know, right around sunset is when they were the most dangerous. So you and I had wanted to interview. And I remember the healthcare worker who, interestingly enough, I don't know if you remember from that clinic, she ran the entire clinic. And I remember we asked, like, what happens if you're sick? And she's like, I'm never sick, I can't be sick. I'm never sick. Like, all these women rely on me. She herself, yeah, really had.

5:53 I don't think she had to walk as far, but she I remember she came up to us and said, if you want to interview this woman, she needs to leave soon because she's got like a couple hour bike ride home. And I remember thinking, wow, that that feels a little extreme. And then do you remember when we were in our van and it stopped in the middle of the road at night? And we were like, What's happening? And we saw this bike with someone's, you know, basket of whatever their groceries, yeah, all across the road. And there was an elephant. And our driver was like, even though we were in a van, he's like, I'm stopping right here. Because if he decides to charge us, it's not good. So we're just gonna turn off the lights and stop until he kind of makes his way.

6:35 If I recall correctly, the elephant actually grabbed the bike and threw it up in the air. Yes, exactly. And that's why the groceries were everywhere, yeah. And it was kind of mangled. It was it was unreal because I love elephants, I don't think of them as being, but of course, the I guess male of any species of animal can have that instinct a little bit. But yeah, then that woman's story, I was like, ah, okay, I get it. Yeah, and there was another village that we went into, and I found it fascinating that when these women before their due date or before they were getting close to their due date, they would, because they lived so far from the clinics, they would just go and stay at the clinic until they had their babies.

7:18 And then if they could give birth in the middle of the night, the nurses would use the light from their cell phones to help these women, and that is something else that stuck with me. Do you remember they would say they would hold it in their mouth? Yes. Because they needed both of their hands. Yeah, I I remember we did finally get, can't remember if it was that trip, another trip I went on, where they had solar panels. And I know there's been a huge push now to install solar panels, but yeah, we were all thinking, oh my gosh, this little like app on our phone, we turned on our flashlight to like find our keys. These nurses were actually having to like hold it in their mouths to deliver a baby. That was unreal.

7:58 It was. It was. Can you tell our listeners just exactly what Shot At Life does? So a little bit of the history is UN Foundation, first, I should say, because that's where we're housed, was started by Ted Turner 24 years ago. We'll have our 25th anniversary next year. And he started it because he really believed in the work the UN was doing around the world. And he felt like Americans didn't know and didn't really understand how crucial the UN is. And at the time, the US was in arrears of its dues. So as a Security Council member, there's you know certain dues that were needed to be paid. So he started the UN Foundation, and the idea is that you need to have everyday Americans tell their legislators, tell their policymakers how important the UN is.

8:46 So when it comes to appropriations, they will be they'll fund fully, you know, and robustly these programs. So 24 years ago was UN Foundation, and then maybe 15 years ago or more, Bill and Melinda Gates, actually much more than 15 years ago, now I think about it, but they went to Africa to see animals on a vacation, like a safari. And they were both so shocked by the extreme poverty that they saw that they started getting really interested. And, you know, Bill is all about numbers and stats and data. And when he looked at communities in extreme poverty, he realized the just best way to lift communities out of poverty is to provide affordable vaccines.

9:32 Because when kids aren't sick, then parents don't have to stay home from work. It also prevents death, it prevents kids from dying. So he set up, you know, a big part of their foundation to work on vaccines. We all know he's quite well known for polio and wanting to working to eradicate polio. But he came to UN Foundation and said, you're so good, you know, based in DC, you set up these constituents that reach out to their legislators. We want you to set something up based on vaccines for kids and really have volunteers that will contact their legislators and say, please, you know, fund UNICEF, fund CDC's work in this area. So that's when Shot at Life was born about 12 years ago.

10:14 And we're a grassroots advocacy organization. So similar to what you said as you came to us for your summit, we train, we have more than 3,500 trained champions all across the US, and we're in all 50 states, which is really exciting. And we give them the tools to do advocacy. Some people are more experienced than others, but for people who have never reached out to their congressional office, don't know how to do it, don't know anything about how appropriations work, we give them the tools. And then if they come to our summit, as you remember, we have a day where we all march up to Capitol Hill and they can meet with their legislators and we fill them in on the latest that's happening in immunization, right?

10:56 It's very dynamic as there are new vaccines, there are new needs, there are new outbreaks. So we fill them in and sort of arm them to be able to go up to Capitol Hill. So grassroots advocacy is how we have probably the biggest impact because these are hundreds of millions of dollars, which to you and me maybe sounds like a lot of money, but in the federal budget, it is a literal drop in the bucket. It's a very small part of the federal budget, but that is huge impact. And then we also do relationships with some corporate partners. So the best, most well-known one is our relationship with Walgreens. So right now, flu season, if anyone goes into a Walgreens, we have a program called Get a Shot, Give a Shot.

11:39 So if you get your vaccine, I call it a triple play because you're protecting yourself, you're protecting those in your community. And then Walgreens will through us donate for a child around the world to be protected from measles or polio. And that program's been going for 10 years now. So it's longstanding and they've already provided 75 million doses to kids around the world. So yeah, that's a really, that's a really great partnership. And they've committed to 100 million. So we'll probably hit that in about a year or two. So it's really exciting to see direct impact as well as this bigger, you know, impact in US government's investments. And I have to say, if if any listener has not uh participated in a day on the hill with Shot At Life or any other organization, it is something that I highly recommend doing because it's such a powerful day for whatever cause that you might be advocating for.

12:35 And you truly feel that day that you do have a say-so and that you do have an impact with your voice. And I think those days are just super incredible. And I think everyone should participate in one in their lifetime. Yeah, no, I couldn't agree more. Everyone comes out of them so inspired, whether or not you see your favorite member of Congress when you're up on the hill. But really, I mean, that's democracy, right? And I think our government's really unique that way, and that you can just make an appointment and sit down and talk to a congressional office about what matters to you. And they really do listen and take notes because they all have to be re-elected. And so if they have constituents that really care about something and they hear from them, they're definitely going to take notes.

13:21 So I agree. If anyone hasn't done it, it's a powerful experience and a good sort of lesson in democracy and really being engaged in our government. I agree. So millions of children around the world are now more susceptible to diseases such as measles, polio, pneumonia, all of which are preventable with vaccines. And I am sure with the COVID-19 pandemic, these numbers have increased. How did you personally see all of this affected by the pandemic? Yeah, it's it's a great question. You know, Amelia, between 2000 and 2020, when really there was a huge concerted effort, and then, you know, shot at life in about 2012, say when we when we started go really getting going and doing advocacy, deaths, measles used to be the leading cause of death for children around the world.

14:13 Measles' deaths went down by 80%. So we know vaccines work. We had made such incredible progress. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit, as we knew, it it didn't necessarily affect children that as strongly, right? And it really wasn't causing death in children. But what happened in a lot of these low resource countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, is their health systems, we said, sort of buckled. So the weight of, first of all, healthcare workers themselves being sick, these new expenses because of COVID vaccines, the they didn't have the infrastructure.

14:54 In most low resource countries, they don't vaccinate adults, which you know, we can we can have an argument about. I think that is coming, but they don't have that infrastructure. So they, you know, reaching out to adults, creating that behavior, all of that, it was a huge burden. And really, I think it was particularly a lot of frontline healthcare workers became ill, right? They didn't have masks necessarily. And we we all none of us knew in the beginning either, right? So what's happened quite tragically is immunization coverage levels, and you think of the percentage of children in a community who are covered, has gone back three decades. So it's gone back 30 years to before we all came together.

15:37 And, you know, really, and as we all know, you know, there are millions of babies being born every day. And so we have got to catch back up. So the numbers are daunting, and you know, COVID is not over, and it's not over in this country. It's certainly not over in a lot of those countries. Even access to the COVID vaccine is still fairly sparse. But the good news is that we have technology and innovation, and we can make this quantum leap, which we need to make to get things back on track. We need the will, it will take resources, but we know the cost of not doing anything, right? The cost of not doing anything is not only lives lost and illness, but the economic fallout is enormous.

16:24 So they're really it it's it's a unique place to be. And I think none of us imagined we would be talking about just getting back to where we were a few years ago. But that's that's really what we're gonna have to all sort of roll up our sleeves and and and focus on because the numbers are their coverage rates are very low, and we're already seeing measles outbreaks. For instance, we know that's the most infectious of the diseases. They're already happening around the world. So so we really do need to double down on resources and get us back to where we were. What do you think the biggest challenge is for vaccine advocacy? I think, you know, it's interesting because you can vaccine advocacy can be advocacy in this country.

17:10 It can be global advocacy. I feel like one of the something you and I saw, right? Chris, let's let's get that clear, is there is not really vaccine hesitancy in most low resource settings because people see disease, then they also see a community that's been vaccinated versus ones that doesn't have access to vaccines. So we know that the internet is global, so misinformation travels quickly around the world, but I would say by and large, vaccine hesitancy is not one of the barriers. I think the barriers are strengthening health systems so they're more resilient.

17:51 You know, we will have other pandemics, there will be outbreaks, and if we don't have an adequately paid health care workforce, so in a lot of countries, I was fortunate enough to visit the DRC, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in June and meeting with healthcare workers there as well as officials from UNICEF, they explained that there were healthcare workers that had not been paid, just had not been paid for months. So they felt like they had no choice. They went on strike. You can imagine. So healthcare workers on strike during a pandemic, and it was interesting because, you know, when I arrived, I luckily I got this naive question out of the way early on in my visit.

18:36 But I said, How has COVID been? And they were like, COVID that flu like they were like, we have Ebola, yellow fever, monkeypox, cholera, you know, they have a lot of very serious diseases. And it's not that COVID didn't affect them at all, but really given everything else you're dealing with, that was not the most important one. But when you don't pay your healthcare workforce, they need to make ends meet. They had no choice, from what I understood. And again, I'm not an expert on the DRC, but to go on strike. So when they go on strike, then all of the activities cease of whether it's vaccinating children or, you know, treating somebody who's a broken limb, you know, you can imagine, or someone else who has a disease.

19:19 So I think bolstering healthcare systems so that they are resilient is really what's most important. And that is a combination of resources. And I think the US government has done a good job stepping up, and I hope that continues. And it's training. I mean, they're fabulous organizations. I know we talked to you about GAVI and we saw some GAVI trucks. So Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, GAVI was formed. Actually, Bill Gates and some others were at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and they were figuring out that some of the main causes of death in children from infectious disease were pneumonia and rotavirus. And rotavirus is a virus that infects the intestines, and children die from diarrhea.

20:04 In fact, it's diarrheal disease. And those vaccines were just out of reach for many low resource countries, incredibly expensive. So GAVI was set up to make they sort of said the market wasn't working for low resource countries. So they said, all right, what if we pulled a lot of money together, went to vaccine manufacturers? It's a little what we say, like the Costco model, and say we're going to buy, you know, 40 million doses. So you could move all your factories to making this one vaccine, but because we're buying in such bulk, you're going to give it to us at a majorly reduced price. So that is a very simplistic view of Gabby's model.

20:46 They have evolved to do a lot more because what they saw is getting vaccine into a country is not enough. And they they have a unique model too, in that they will work with a country and they will say, okay, they never will just give vaccines for free. They'll say, we will finance, for instance, 80% of the cost for three years, then 60%, and eventually countries graduate. So they learn to write it into their budgets so they themselves take on the cost. But a lot of Gavi's evolution has been, as I said, we can't just provide vaccines. We may need to help provide transportation. I think you and I saw some trucks in Zambia.

21:26 We may need to provide refrigeration and solar refrigeration because a lot of these settings don't have a reliable electrical grid. So you cannot have a blackout and you know lose a whole batch of vaccines. So I think Gabby, but UNICEF also, I think all partners are in now working closely with ministries of health and ministries of finance to build stronger and more resilient health systems. Because I think that is really, you know, we we can ignore that. And we can't ignore in this country the sort of global health security side of things. You know, if the pandemic taught us anything, it's something that all those of us who work in infectious disease have been saying for a long time.

22:06 A disease anywhere is a threat everywhere, right? Any disease is a plane right away. We're living more and more connected. People are traveling more and more. And so we can't afford to say that disease over there, it doesn't affect us. It does. COVID clearly showed us that. God at Life taught me years ago, diseases knows no borders. Right? They don't need a passport. They will go right over a border, hop on a plane. So I think we also need to look at it in terms of global health security, you know. And I think in some of our advocacy for some of our members' offices that are maybe traditionally a little more hesitant towards foreign aid, we don't frame it as foreign aid.

22:47 We frame it as security of American people. Because if we don't stop diseases, then they will come across borders. Now that kind of leads into my next question. You also took a trip earlier this year to Copenhagen. Can you talk about what you saw there? Oh, it was fascinating. I feel so fortunate I was able to go. So it is the largest humanitarian warehouse facility in the world. It's UNICEF supply headquarters, and they do have other hubs around the world, but I think this is the biggest one. And what we saw, you know, when I talk about innovation, gosh, UNICEF is really, it's just impressive all that they've done.

23:28 So we saw everything, they don't actually store any vaccines there, just to be clear, because vaccines are so fragile, they go directly from manufacturers to, you know, regional hubs to countries. But everything around vaccines, so a syringe, you know, I think even some of the dilutants, PPE, that all goes through this warehouse. But so do many other things. For refugees, they have school in a box. So it is literally a box, a kit that gets sent, and it has art materials, you know, it has a whole thing so that even in a refugee setting, you can quickly set up a school. It has contraception. It had, you know, it's just a tremendous number of things you think about that UNICEF provides around the world.

24:12 But the warehouse is so modern. It has robots, it has, you know, automatic cranes that are stacking and moving pallets. And when we were there, it was really cool because they had told us when the war in Ukraine broke out. So already for COVID, a lot of the workers in the warehouse were working 24-7. So literally didn't take a day off for two, three weeks at a time. And then they'd switch out with another crew because it was so critical getting the PPE out, right? Like we said, just getting a vaccine isn't enough. You need the syringes, you need everything else that goes with it. And they knew time was of the essence. They needed to get these supplies out. So then the war in Ukraine broke out.

24:53 And so there was a huge need to be able to, you know, there were women, as you probably remember, who were hiding in the subway tunnels and were giving birth. And so they needed the birthing kits that UNICEF sent out. They also showed tents. They have come up with a tent that can be a health clinic, it can be a home for a family, and the with just some small modifications, it can be in a you know a 120-degree desert, or it can be in like frozen tundra. But the different adjustments you do to it and the different customizations can keep it really warm or can air it out and keep you cool if you're somewhere that's very hot. So it was just a fascinating.

25:34 And if anyone's interested, I would encourage them to look up, you know, UNICEF Supply Copenhagen. You can probably Google that, and there are all kinds of videos on the not only the incredible work they're doing, but the people we met. It's interesting. It was a large majority women in the warehouse driving the, you know, the forklifts. It was really cool and from all over the world. So it's a exciting place to visit. That's really incredible. You know, there are millions of nonprofits out there. So for you personally, why shot it life? Well, I have to say, I have been passionate about preventative health my whole life. You know, I have seen people have different health outcomes.

26:16 I became very interested in nutrition about 10 years ago. And, you know, when I learned about vaccines, I just thought, gosh, this is so easy for pennies and the dollar, you can protect yourself from so many diseases. And then when I learned about, you know, the Gates Foundation work and shot at life, I thought, gosh, what a privilege if I could ever work there and it worked out for me to be able to work on something that has such a direct impact. So I think when you're able to give a child a shot at life or a healthy start, it sets them up to thrive, right? And to be a productive member of society and do whatever, whatever the future holds for them.

26:59 So I do think investing in children is incredibly important. I think preventative health is important too. And that's for me personally. There are a lot of wonderful nonprofits out there and a lot of incredible work being done, but I really like something that was focusing on preventing, you know, disease and morbidity, and something that was having a real impact around the world. And it's exciting to work in a field where there are innovative organizations like Gavi. So the UNICEF and WHO doing incredible work. And as I said, UNICEF is very innovative in its own way, but there are also these public-private partnerships that are really helping drive change. This line of work can be emotional.

27:41 There are long hours. Fundraising is incredibly difficult. But one thing that I love is that through Shot at Life, you've been able to see firsthand the work being done. It's not just a donation and then you wonder how it's being used or where did that money go? You have met with families who are forever changed by the help they receive from Shot At Life. Where do you draw your daily inspiration when you're going through one of these difficult, emotional, long, drawn-out days, as nonprofit can bring, where do you draw your daily inspiration? You know, it's a great question. I think, as you said, I have had the great fortune of, and you were with me for some of it, meeting with mothers who walk for miles.

28:26 You know, in in the DRC, it is we we mostly stayed in Kinshasa. And to let you know, it is a city of 17 million people. So New York City has seven. Kinshasa has 17 piles of garbage along the road. Most roads aren't paved. You you just can't get electricity, plumbing, clean, you know, for that many people. But I saw healthcare workers who were determined to make sure that those and I met a whole cadre that UNICEF has. They're 100% volunteers. So they don't get paid anything. UNICEF gives them information and they give them a backpack. They walk for miles out into their community.

29:08 They have all the data from UNICEF. So they would say, for instance, Amelia, I noticed your daughter didn't come for her second measle shot. Is she sick? You know, can I help you make another appointment? These people, and they they talk to us about the rainy season, what it's like sludging through the mud and they don't have an umbrella. Like so many people like that sacrifice so much more that my long hours feel, you know, really trivial next to that. And of course, the mothers too, the mothers who are so grateful to be able to protect their children. I'm a mother. I know what it feels like when your child is sick and how worried you are. So I think when I think back on the mothers and, you know, their deep need and desire to want to protect their children, and then all these healthcare workers who give so much of their time and for nothing to be able to protect those in their community.

30:00 That's really where I draw my inspiration. And and also the progress that's been made. So this is not an intractable problem. You know, I feel fortunate in that way. Climate right now. I have some colleagues, you know, at COP27. That's a that's a really tricky problem, which doesn't mean we shouldn't all work on it. But I feel like mine is such there's an easy solution. It's not expensive. Most people agree on it. So that's also really inspirational for me. So where can our listeners find Shot at Life? Ah, thank you for asking. So shotitlife.org is our website. Please visit us. We are also on Twitter and LinkedIn and Instagram.

30:41 And you've been very generous. I know, Amelia, retweeting and liking. We love that. Amplifying our messages is so helpful to us. And then there's also uh info at if anyone wants to email any questions, we carefully monitor that and would be happy to get back to anyone. We are accepting applications. We are going to do our summit. We're finally back live now, February 27th through March 1st in DC. And we would love to have anyone join us. Awesome. And I will make sure that I share those links in the notes of this episode on Voicesofinspiration Podcast.com. So I always ask every single guest do you have a quote or words of wisdom that you would like to leave behind with our listeners?

31:24 Don't underestimate the power of your voice. And I mean that for reaching out to your legislators, course, because I'm from a grassroots organization, but also using your voice on social media, using your voice if you were standing up in a town meeting. Of course, I think of it in terms of standing up for children who don't have a voice often, but I mean it for any cause you feel strongly about. You do all have a voice. Your voice is important. And I think we've learned that not standing up and not expressing that's dangerous, right? And it's it takes some courage. But if you'd like to learn about advocacy, again, we're more than happy to train people.

32:04 We've got fabulous people doing the training. I believe strongly in reaching out to your member of Congress because they're there for you and they're there for their constituents and really do care about what you think. And you they work for you. You need to make sure they are representing your views. But really, for anything, I think don't be afraid to share your voice. I know that you have extremely busy days, so I am so grateful that you took time to chat with me today. My pleasure. My pleasure. Really, it's it's been lovely talking to you, and thank you so much for all of your support of the campaign. Thank you to our listeners. There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there, and I am so grateful you've chosen to be with me today.

32:45 My name is Amelia, and I am the host of Voices of Inspiration. Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?