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The tenth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The tenth edition of the RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
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RIVER-EU’s closing events in Brussels
From 18 to 20 May 2026, the RIVER-EU consortium came together in Brussels for three intense and meaningful days to share five years of work, reflect on what was built, and look ahead to what comes next.
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Operationalising vaccine equity: Lessons from five years of collaboration shared at the RIVER-EU final conference
The RIVER-EU final conference “Making Vaccine Equity Work: Community-led Solutions for a Healthier and More Resilient Europe” put on display the project’s field experience, implementation learning, a newly launched guideline and action framework, and closed with a pragmatic conversation about what happens next.
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“Don’t pass them by when it comes to vaccination”: Closing the loop in Poland
In Poland, RIVER-EU has been concentrating on Ukrainian migrants and refugees, communities selected precisely because childhood vaccine uptake, specifically HPV vaccination, was remarkably low. RIVER-EU wanted to understand why and what lessons might be transferable to other settings. On May 9th, the University of Zielona Gora, the RIVER-EU partner and coordinator, presented the core findings … Read more
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From community to community: RIVER-EU closes the loop in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, RIVER-EU has been working with Turkish and Moroccan background communities whose HPV vaccine uptake falls consistently below the national average. This April, RIVER-EU partner and coordinator, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), brought those findings back to the people who matter most: the professionals who shape the system and the women at its centre.
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When it comes to vaccination, trust is everything: Closing the loop in the UK
This March, RIVER-EU colleagues brought the project's findings back to the community
that inspired them. During two events that reached very different audiences, they
shared the same core message: when it comes to vaccination, trust is everything. -
“A goodbye to RIVER-EU, but not to our collaboration”: Closing the loop in Slovakia
On 18 February 2026, partners from Healthy Regions gathered with Roma health mediators, coordinators and managers to mark the project’s close, not with a formal conference, but with something that felt more fitting: a working celebration.
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Join us at the RIVER-EU Final Conference in Brussels
After five years of successful collaboration, the RIVER-EU project will conclude with a final public event in Brussels, bringing together communities, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to reflect on key outcomes and discuss pathways for advancing equitable vaccination strategies across Europe.
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The ninth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The ninth edition of the RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
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RIVER-EU General Assembly meeting 2025: Shaping our guiding principles for vaccine equity
In line with our tradition of holding the General Assembly meeting during the European Public Health Conference, on 11 November 2025, RIVER-EU partners met in Helsinki to reflect on progress, discuss the upcoming guideline (WP5), and agree on priorities for the final months of the project, which will end in June 2026.
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Join our scientific workshop: implementation of tailored interventions for vaccine uptake in underserved communities
At the 18th European Public Health Conference (EPHC 2025) in Helsinki, RIVER-EU will host a 1-hour scientific workshop and roundtable discussion on Wednesday, 12 November 2025.
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The eighth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The eighth edition of the RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
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Standing on strong shoulders: How past research has empowered RIVER-EU
At RIVER-EU, we are fully conscious of the fact that we are not starting from scratch. The work we do today is grounded in years of research, trial and error, and valuable experience from other public health efforts around the world.
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Measles is back; but protection is still #HumanlyPossible
As we celebrate this year’s European Immunization Week under the hopeful banner of “Humanly Possible”, we are reminded of the immense progress public health has achieved through vaccination.
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Empowering communities: Enablers of high vaccination uptake in underserved populations
Despite being underserved, often experiencing wide gaps in health outcomes and health and social service provision, some disadvantaged minority communities across Europe and beyond have achieved high vaccination uptake.
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The seventh RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
Our latest newsletter is available online featuring the latest news from the RIVER-EU project.
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“From Insight to Impact”: the RIVER-EU joint pre-Conference
On November 12th, 2024, the RIVER-EU project, alongside RISE-Vac and AcToVax4NAM, hosted an engaging pre-conference session at the 17th European Public Health Conference in Lisbon. Titled, “From Insight to Impact: Advancing Equitable Vaccination Across Europe”
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RIVER-EU’s General Assembly Meeting: Tracking our progress and planning the next steps
On November 11th, 2024, RIVER-EU held its annual General Assembly. Project partners gathered in Lisbon to discuss progress and challenges to date, and strategies for moving forward.
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Join our event at the 17th EPH Conference 2024 in Lisbon
From Insight to Impact: Advancing Equitable Vaccination Across Europe | Date: 9:00 – 17.00, November 12, 2024 | Location: Lisbon, Portugal | Event type: RIVER-EU, Rise-Vac, and ActoVax4NAM
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Voices from Poland: Students Making a Difference with RIVER-EU
The RIVER-EU project in Poland, dedicated to reducing inequalities in vaccine uptake in the Ukrainian community in Poland, brings together passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds. The initiative has taken on added significance in Poland since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which led to an influx of Ukrainian refugees seeking safety.
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Vaccine equity in Greece: The Greek Forum of Migrants discusses local challenges and solutions
RIVER-EU held a written interview with Nini Lomsadze, Project Manager at the Greek Forum of Migrants, a network comprising 42 migrant and refugee communities and organizations.
In this insightful interview, we dive into the systematic challenges faced by migrants and refugees in Greece regarding access to health services, including vaccination.
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Uniting for Vaccine Equity: Insights from the RIVER-EU midterm meeting in Athens
Country leaders from the RIVER-EU project gathered at Prolepsis’s offices for the midterm meeting of Work Package 4 (Implementation and evaluation of tailored interventions). This meeting was a step in uniting in our shared vision to increase MMR and HPV vaccine uptake among underserved communities.
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Join our scientific workshop about transferability and adaptation of vaccination interventions
Transferability and adaptation of vaccination interventions: Learning from underserved communities | Date: 16:45 – 17.45, November 14, 2024 | Location: Lisbon, Portugal | Event type: Scientific workshop
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The sixth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
Our latest newsletter is available online featuring the latest news from the RIVER-EU project.
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Working together to identify what works: joint decision-making with underserved communities to select interventions for vaccine uptake
In the European Union, every child has a fundamental right to access health services. Equitable health systems should respond to the needs of all children, no matter their living or economic conditions. RIVER-EU is implementing tailor-made interventions to reduce health system barriers for HPV and/or MMR vaccination.
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A Personal Journey – Why Genuine Engagement Matters in Health Initiatives
Mr. KR, originally from Afghanistan, has been living in Greece for more than 20 years. His journey has been one of adaptation and perseverance. Fleeing the Taliban’s regime as a teenager, KR found refuge in Greece, where he immersed himself in the language and pursued studies in electronic engineering. However, due to the economic crisis happening at the time…
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Strategies for boosting vaccination uptake among Ukrainian migrants in Poland – An interview with Prof. Serhij Nyankowsky
This insightful written interview explores health system barriers faced by Ukrainian migrants in Poland. Amidst numerous challenges, Prof. Nyankowsky unveils promising interventions that help improve equitable access to healthcare. Through targeted educational campaigns and the engagement of Ukrainian doctors working in the Polish health system, there lies a pathway to empowerment and ensuring that migrants take informed decisions concerning their health.
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The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI): 50 years and counting
In the last week of April each year, the world comes together to celebrate World Immunization Week (WIW) (or European Immunization Week, as it is called in the WHO/Europe region) Each year’s theme highlights a critical call to action of a central achievement of vaccination programmes.
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United Against Cancer: RIVER-EU’s drive for vaccine equity alongside the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
In the battle against cancer, equitable access to vaccines is a cornerstone of prevention. Vaccines offer safe and effective protection against viral infections like Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV), linked to cancers such as cervical, anogenital, head and neck, and liver cancer.
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Interview Insights: Addressing Health System Barriers for Refugees and Migrants in Greece
An Interview with Eugenie Gargalestou, Teacher at the Multicultural School of Athens. The school is one of the local pilot sites in Greece, working closely with RIVER-EU consortium partner Prolepsis, an organisation leading project work on WP4 “Implementation and Evaluation of tailored interventions”.
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The fifth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
Our latest newsletter is available online featuring the latest news from the RIVER-EU project.
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RIVER-EU General Assembly meeting in November 2023: Moving on to implementation!
RIVER-EU held its annual General Assembly in Dublin on 8 November 2023. Project partners, convened to review the work accomplished over the past 2.5 years and strategize for upcoming project activities.
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Empowering Roma Health Mediators to Address Health Disparities
Roma health advocates in Slovakia exemplify charisma and dedication. Their role extends far beyond that of mere health assistants; it involves an unwavering commitment to the well-being of their clients, 24/7.
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RIVER-EU workshop on 10 November – A participatory approach to identifying vaccine uptake interventions with underserved communities
Date: 10 November 2023 |
Time: 15.10 – 16.10 (GMT+1) |
Location: at the Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland -
Are we having the wrong conversation about vaccine hesitancy? Leading research projects weigh in with recommendations
The RIVER-EU project and JITSUVAX project, funded by the Horizon2020 research programme, joined forces at the European Health Forum Gastein to discuss the challenge of vaccine hesitancy.
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The fourth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
Our latest newsletter is available online featuring the latest news from the project including: Evidence from the literature review, launch of the Seki Platform, collaboration with other projects.
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A multistakeholder roundtable discussion sets the next steps to facilitate higher HPV vaccine uptake in Slovakia
RIVER-EU country coordinators from the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJS), participated in a roundtable in Košice in March that was dedicated to the fight against HPV caused cancers.
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Health system enablers to child vaccination in Israel: empowering example of the Arab minority in Israel
Populations that come from lower socio-economic backgrounds or migrant communities, or belong to cultural or religious minorities usually achieve substantially lower vaccine uptake compared to the general population
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Vaccine equity and effective communication: why it matters
Many things depend on the power of conversation – including vaccine equity. A reliable way to foster unity and close the inequality gap is to form strong relationships with underserved populations.
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Raising awareness of global decline in vaccination rates – European Immunization Week 2023
Vaccination is one of the most essential tools available to ensure population health and wellbeing. However, vaccination programmes face enduring challenges, namely inequalities in vaccine access and vaccine hesitancy.
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Barriers and enablers to vaccine uptake: evidence from a systematic literature review
Vaccinations have been shown to reduce health inequality worldwide. However, wide gaps in vaccine uptake remain among different population groups.
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European Commission’s consultation webinar on vaccine-preventable cancers – RIVER-EU project contributes
RIVER-EU project coordinator, Dr Danielle Jansen, joined the European Commission’s stakeholder’s webinar: ‘Commission proposal for a Council Recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancers’, which took place on the 23rd of March 2023. The Commission’s proposal for a Council Recommendation on vaccine-preventable cancers aims to help Member States address vaccine-preventable cancers with a focus on increasing the uptake … Read more
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The third RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The third RIVER-EU newsletter is out! Among other things, we invite you to read about our progress in the past six months and learn more about the field work from researchers working with the selected underserved communities in Slovakia, Finland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
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Extension of HPV vaccination programme to boys in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination was introduced in 2010 in the national immunization programme, targeted towards adolescent girls in the year they turned 13 years old. The selected vaccine is bivalent, targeting HPV types 16 and 18. In 2022, the HPV vaccination programme was extended to boys, with the first round of vaccinations held in March and April 2022.
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Voices from the field: Studying Slovakia’s marginalised Roma communities
Within the RIVER-EU project, a series of qualitative studies were conducted to explore health system barriers to vaccination in selected underserved communities. In Slovakia, the study described barriers to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among girls from marginalized Roma communities from the perspective of Roma girls, their parents, and professionals involved in HPV vaccination who serve this population.
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Working together is demanding, but totally worth it: A researcher’s testimony from working with the marginalised Roma community in Slovakia
Roma are the largest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority in Europe. For centuries, the history of Roma has been marked by intolerance, punitive policies, assimilation and social engineering which has ultimately resulted in the development of marginalized Roma communities.
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Positive childhood vaccination uptake amongst the underserved Bangladeshi community in East London: an empowering example
Ethnic minority groups are one of several underserved populations that have received significant attention in public health for their reported ‘vaccination hesitancy’ and suboptimal vaccination uptake (Dowden, 2019).
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Voices from the Field: Experiences from the Somali community in Finland
RIVER-EU fieldwork with the Finnish Somali community kicked off at the end of 2021. The Finnish Somali community had been identified as an “empowering example” community due to the unexpectedly high vaccination coverage rates the community has achieved for MMR (measles mumps-rubella) vaccines.
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Launch of JA PERCH brings new opportunities to strengthen HPV vaccine uptake
The launch of the European Joint Action PartnERship to Contrast HPV (PERCH) took place on 5 December 2022 in Brussels. Led by the Italian Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), the three-year PERCH project shares many parallels with RIVER-EU, and hence offers opportunities to strengthen mutual objectives to improve HPV vaccine uptake in Europe.
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RIVER-EU holds first in-person General Assembly
On 9 November 2022, RIVER-EU held its first in person General Assembly, almost 1.5 years after the launch of the project.
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The second RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The second RIVER-EU newsletter is out! Catch up on our activities in 2022 and find out what to expect this year.
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Poland’s public health response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis draws on RIVER-EU research
According to the United Nations an estimated 7.4 million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February this year – the fastest exodus of refugees this century.
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Come and meet RIVER-EU at European Public Health Conference in Berlin
RIVER-EU project partners are organising two workshops and two poster presentations at the 15th European Public Health Conference.
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RIVER-EU webinar summary report
RIVER-EU webinar summary – Improving immunization equity: bridging communities & health systems. Some of the most important points are captured in this article.
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RIVER-EU webinar on 17 May – Building stronger bridges between communities and health care systems to improve immunization equity
Date: 17 May 2022 | Time: 15.00 – 16.00 CET | Event type: online.
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RIVER-EU research supports European Child Guarantee national coordinators
On 21 April 2022, the European Commission held the 5th meeting of national Child Guarantee Coordinators to discuss how Member States can ensure equitable access to healthcare and vaccinations for vulnerable children.
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The RIVER-EU project calls for ensuring equitable access to vaccines for people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine
The RIVER-EU consortium expresses its collective solidarity with the international community in upholding the rule of law and condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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The first RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The first RIVER-EU newsletter is out! Catch up on our activities in 2021 and find out what to expect this year.
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Bilateral meeting between JITSUVAX and RIVER-EU
On 22 November 2021, RIVER-EU partners held a bilateral meeting with the JITSUVAX project consortium to get to know each other’s work better and find a meaningful way to collaborate.
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Taking part in the 2030 European Regional Immunization Agenda Development
On 9 February 2021, a number of RIVER-EU consortium partners took part in the Non-State Actor consultation meeting on the development of the European Immunization Agenda 2030 (EIA2030), which is one of the flagship initiatives of the European Programme of Work 2020-2025.
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RIVER-EU signs Joint Statement for Priorities for Eliminating Cervical Cancer
Together with other co-signatories of the Joint Statement, RIVER-EU calls for all European Union (EU) and WHO/Europe member states to take immediate action towards fulfilling the ambitious goal of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.
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RIVER-EU presents in the event on Roma health and equity
On 24 June 2021, the country coordinator for Slovakia in RIVER-EU project, Daniela Filakovska, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University (UPJS) in Košice, spoke at the online workshop ‘Finding sustainable funding to build health equity in Europe’.
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Joint webinar to identify synergies between projects addressing vaccination uptake in disadvantaged and hard-to reach populations in the EU
On 25-26 May 2021, RIVER-EU participated in an online event organised by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) to launch four new projects, co-funded under the 3rd EU Health Programme and the Horizon 2020 Research Programme.
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New initiative launched to improve access to MMR and HPV vaccines in underserved populations
Funded by the Horizon 2020 Research Programme, RIVER-EU (“Reducing Inequalities in Vaccine uptake in the European Region – Engaging Underserved communities”) is a 5-year (2021-2026) project coordinated by the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG).
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The tenth RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
The tenth edition of the RIVER-EU newsletter is out!
-
RIVER-EU’s closing events in Brussels
From 18 to 20 May 2026, the RIVER-EU consortium came together in Brussels for three intense and meaningful days to share five years of work, reflect on what was built, and look ahead to what comes next.
-
Operationalising vaccine equity: Lessons from five years of collaboration shared at the RIVER-EU final conference
The RIVER-EU final conference “Making Vaccine Equity Work: Community-led Solutions for a Healthier and More Resilient Europe” put on display the project’s field experience, implementation learning, a newly launched guideline and action framework, and closed with a pragmatic conversation about what happens next.
-
“Don’t pass them by when it comes to vaccination”: Closing the loop in Poland
In Poland, RIVER-EU has been concentrating on Ukrainian migrants and refugees, communities selected precisely because childhood vaccine uptake, specifically HPV vaccination, was remarkably low. RIVER-EU wanted to understand why and what lessons might be transferable to other settings. On May 9th, the University of Zielona Gora, the RIVER-EU partner and coordinator, presented the core findings … Read more
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From community to community: RIVER-EU closes the loop in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, RIVER-EU has been working with Turkish and Moroccan background communities whose HPV vaccine uptake falls consistently below the national average. This April, RIVER-EU partner and coordinator, University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), brought those findings back to the people who matter most: the professionals who shape the system and the women at its centre.
-
When it comes to vaccination, trust is everything: Closing the loop in the UK
This March, RIVER-EU colleagues brought the project's findings back to the community
that inspired them. During two events that reached very different audiences, they
shared the same core message: when it comes to vaccination, trust is everything.