Vaccines are one of the most effective health interventions ever developed.
Each year, more than 100 million children are immunized against tuberculosis, polio, measles, and other diseases. But millions of other children, mostly in the world’s poorest countries, are not immunized.
Immunization rates are rising.
Public and private groups from around the world have come together in an effort to eventually immunize all children. In 1999, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) was formed, and global immunization is now at an all-time high. But even today, 21 percent of children don’t have access to needed vaccines.
Every year, 2.4 million children die from preventable diseases despite the availability of effective vaccines.
Millions more survive, but they’re left severely impaired. The long-range effects of childhood illnesses hinder the ability of those who survive to become educated, work, or care for themselves or others. This puts a strain on their families and on the economies of developing countries.
Getting cost-effective vaccines to the people who need them is complicated.
Successfully delivering high-quality vaccines requires a comprehensive temperature-controlled delivery system called the “cold chain.” Vaccines need to be transported at the correct temperature to prevent them from either freezing or being exposed to too much heat. But in many countries, it’s difficult to ensure this type of transport from the airport to the children in the village who need the vaccines.
We believe that a coordinated effort to develop and distribute underused and new vaccines can save millions of lives.
Success will be achieved through the coordinated efforts of national governments, their global development partners, pharmaceutical companies, non-governmental organizations, community health workers, and parents.
Our goal is to increase the use of effective but underused vaccines and introduce new vaccines to prevent a total of 4 million deaths per year.
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