Vaccination is an important—and common—part of healthcare for all people and is a priority for MSF, whether responding to epidemics or as part of routine care or targeted programs to protect from severe illness or death. But many people do not realise that certain vaccinations are important specifically for women and girls, because the disease or infection has far greater negative consequences for them, especially during pregnancy, or the life of their babies.
- Preventing death e.g. hepatitis E is life-threatening specifically for women in pregnancy
- Preventing short-term and longer-term illness if not also premature death e.g. tetanus and hepatitis B post-exposure vaccination in victim-survivors of sexual violence
- Protecting women’s newborns from illness through maternal immunisation e.g. tetanus (while these vaccinations also benefit women, the primary goal is to safeguard the health of their babies).

On International Women's Day 2025, we are sharing the stories of women and their lived experience in facing the risk or impact of these vaccine-preventable diseases (hepatitis E focus), and the voices of MSF staff involved in promoting and ensuring their care.

Fatality in women and girls due to hepatitis E averages 20-30 per cent among pregnant women, and there is no cure, meaning that many at advanced stages of illness do not survive. MSF conducted the first-ever vaccination campaign during the acute stages of an active hepatitis E outbreak in Fangak County in 2024 – one of the most-remote and hard-to-reach areas of South Sudan – enabling the survival of women and girls who, alongside their communities, face many other health challenges in the area.