John,

While access to vaccines is high in the United States, Europe, and other high-income and upper-middle-income countries, vaccination continues to be limited in low- and middle-income countries, and COVID-19 continues to disrupt the lives of millions.

In 2021, IPA and researchers from Yale and Stanford Medical School conducted the first randomized controlled trial that shows—in a real-world setting—that wearing masks, particularly surgical masks, reduces COVID-19.

IPA’s research not only showed the effectiveness of masks in the fight against COVID-19 but also revealed that a combination of mask distribution and promotion campaigns (called the NORM model) tripled mask use.

IPA went beyond the research and partnered with decision-makers and organizations to support them in quickly scaling up the NORM model. As of today, our partners are implementing the model in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan to reach 100 million people.

Watch this video about how and why we took action to find out what works, and then helped ensure that evidence was used to improve—and save—lives.

Your contribution today will enable IPA to continue to produce evidence that improves and saves lives. Please consider a gift today.

Best wishes,
​​​​
The IPA Team