A baby is vaccinated in Pader, northern Uganda. PHOTO | FILE
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made a business case for how it plans to support immunisation in Africa.
The
UN health agency on Wednesday launched the “Business Case for WHO
Immunisation Activities on the African Continent 2018-2030” in Geneva
outlining how it will assist African countries achieve universal
vaccination coverage.
“We know the benefits of
immunisation are far-reaching. When children survive and stay healthy,
entire families, communities and countries thrive. In short,
immunisation is a cornerstone of sustainable development,” said Samba
Ousmane Sow, Minister of Health and Public Hygiene for Mali.
“We
must ramp up our efforts immediately to ensure universal access to
immunisation for all children in Africa, no matter who they are or where
they live.”
According to WHO, more than 30 million
children in Africa under the age of five fall sick due to
vaccine-preventable diseases and of these, over half a million die.
The
global health agency says curbing the four major ailments – measles,
rubella, rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases – could save more than 1.9
million lives and generate $58 billion in economic benefits.
The
return on investment is estimated to be $37 for every dollar invested,
with returns rising to $93 per dollar for measles elimination.
“While
Africa has made tremendous progress in improving access to
immunisation, most countries are off-track to achieve the Global Vaccine
Action Plan target of 90 per cent national immunisation coverage by
2020,” WHO said.
Scaling up
To
scale up progress against vaccine-preventable diseases, the business
case shifts focus from disease-specific to an integrated, multi-sectoral
life-course approach from infancy through to old age.
To
implement it, WHO has differentiated all African countries into four
categories based on an immunisation maturity grid – category 1 (low
maturity) to category 4 (high maturity). The key components used to
differentiate include vaccine financing, immunisation service delivery
and data analytics.
WHO will provide targeted support
to each group of countries to optimise resource management and increase
impact. Over time, the agency will decrease support and focus in
countries as they move up the maturity scale, to allow country ownership
and sustainability.
21 African countries are classified under categories 1 and 2 for having weak immunisation systems.
WHO
says one of the biggest challenge is funding. For instance, as Africa
nears polio elimination, critical funding for immunisation through the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative is expected to ramp down and end.
In
addition, as more countries move to middle-income status, they
transition away from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance that funds immunisation
activities in poor countries.
“The WHO business case
is strongly anchored in a broader vision to improve accountability and
transparency in line with the broader WHO Transformation Agenda,” said
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
“We
are committed to continue evolving to ensure that everyone in Africa,
no matter who they are or where they live, can have access to
life-saving vaccines, because universal access to immunisation is not
only a moral imperative – it also makes economic sense.”
– Additional reporting by Christabel Ligami.
No comments :
Post a Comment