Girls’ “Jumping for Joy” Wins MOMENTUM’s 2022 Photo Contest

USAID MOMENTUM, a global partnership for health resilience, supports efforts in 34 partner countries to improve maternal and child survival and increase access to family planning and reproductive health care. We invited our country teams to send in their best photos, showcasing the work they do to improve health outcomes for mothers, babies, and families. Take a look at our top three picks.

Thanks to the Wilson Center for hosting the winners and congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who participated!

First Place

Rina, Manita, Pratima, Sabita, Sunita, and Poonam at their school in Angara, Ranchi in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Through the Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness Programme, girls are learning skills ranging from emotional well-being to mental health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Photographer: Pankaj Kumar Gupta

Rina, Manita, Pratima, Sabita, Sunita, and Poonam are just six of more than one million school-aged children and youth in urban and rural areas whom India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Ministry of Education aims to reach through the Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness Program. The national initiative brings together communities to reduce the occurrence of child marriage and teenage pregnancies by improving the health and well-being of students and empowering adolescents within their ecosystem to access quality health care.

MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash is supporting the training of “Health and Wellness Ambassadors” in 10 states. The Ambassadors are trained to empower and equip students with information on their health, including menstrual hygiene, mental health, gender equality, nutrition, health and sanitation, and more.

Photographer Pankaj Kumar Gupta, Team Lead for the Family Planning Logistics Management Information System activity for the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project said, “It is so uplifting to see how the school girls respond to the Health and Wellness Ambassadors’ messages. They are so joyful, strong, and confident. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to capture their vibrancy and in the process be part of helping their story reach audiences globally.”

Check out this five-minute video for more information about MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project.

Second Place

Woman receiving a COVID-19 vaccinationat the "Campo dos Macondes" (football camp) in Nampula Province, Mozambique.

Photographer: Neide Guesela

Offering COVID-19 vaccines in a community football field, as in the photo above, is just one of the many strategies that the MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity is using to deliver vaccines to underserved communities. The Mozambican Ministry of Health partnered with MOMENTUM to work with local organizations to help identify and reach populations for COVID-19 vaccination through radio campaigns and by working alongside community health workers, known locally as Agentes Polivalentes Elementares.

Photographer Neide Guesela, MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity’s National Social and Behavior Change and Communication Advisor in Mozambique said, “One of the most important things we help community leaders do is to spread the word about the importance of getting vaccinated to combat misinformation and improve vaccination uptake. When the people queue up for a vaccine, we know we’re getting the job done.” Learn more about how we’re helping our partners introduce the COVID-19 vaccine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique in our blog.

Third Place

Photographer: Ilda Vahire

Grácio Health Facility featured in our photo, is one of 358 health facilities where MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity is working in Mozambique. MOMENTUM works with the government in Nampula and Zambézia provinces, along with service providers, community leaders, and families to introduce context-specific approaches to address common obstacles to routine immunization with low coverage, including community-led outreach and mobile brigades to deliver essential services in hard-to-reach areas in Nampula Province. 

Photographer Ilda Vahire is the SBCC Officer for MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity in Nampula province, Mozambique. “It was great to see community outreach at work in this remote part of Nampula Province, where cult beliefs and teachings can be an obstacle to families seeking immunization services,” said Vahire. “This health worker was able to have a conversation with this young mother, convincing her that she needs to get her child immunized.”

Globally, 14 million children did not receive their first dose of the essential childhood vaccine that prevents diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) through routine immunization services in 2019. These “zero-dose” children are far more likely to become sick with and die from vaccine-preventable diseases like measles or polio. USAID’s MOMENTUM provides technical assistance and capacity building to support national institutions and local partners to reduce the number of zero-dose and under-immunized children. Download this two-page brief to learn more about our commitment to immunizing zero-dose children.

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