4 diseases for 2m lives: WHO makes business case for vaccines
New evidence suggests curbing four major childhood diseases—measles, rubella, rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases—could save nearly 2 million lives in Africa and generate $58 billion in economic benefits. But more than 30 million children aged under five become ill each year due to diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines. Up to 500,000 of them […]
New evidence suggests curbing four major childhood diseases—measles, rubella, rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases—could save nearly 2 million lives in Africa and generate $58 billion in economic benefits.
But more than 30 million children aged under five become ill each year due to diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines. Up to 500,000 of them die.
The World Health Organisation has launched business cases detailing how its regional offices in Africa and Eastern Mediterranean plan to support immunisation activities across the continent up until 2030.
At the launch at the ongoing World Health Assembly in Geneva, WHO spoke of determination to play “transformational role” in Africa’s future by strengthening systems for immunisation—and in turn enabling global health, economic security and universal health coverage.
The aim is to ensure all African countries reach a “satisfactory level of immunisation maturity” by 2030.
The Global Vaccine Action Plan requires countries to reach a target 90% immunisation coverage by 2020.
Despite progress in improving access to immunisation, many African countries are off track.
Vaccine-preventable diseases account for nearly six in 10 global deaths of children.
They also drain at least $13 billion every year, funding that could fuel economies and drive development.
Read also Nigeria scrambles to fund immunisation, improve coverage in 10 years
The business case presented by the WHO Africa and Eastern Mediterranean regions indicate curbing just measles, rubella, rotavirus and pneumococcal diseases could avert 167 million cases of vaccine-preventable diseases and generate $58 billion in economic benefits by 2030.
The return on this investment has been estimated to be $37 for every dollar invested, with returns going up to $93 for measles elimination.
“When children survive and stay healthy, entire families, communities and countries thrive. In short, immunization is a cornerstone of sustainable development.” said Samba Sow, Mali’s minister of health and public hygiene.
“We must ramp up our efforts immediately to ensure universal access to immunization for all children in Africa, no matter who they are or where they live.”
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| Students get measles vaccination in wake of outbreak. Protection against measles, alongside three other diseases, could raise return on investment to $58b for Africa |
Shifting focus
The WHO business case used models to show vaccination progress could reverse if current efforts are not maintained, leading to more than 2.4 million deaths in Africa and costing the economy $59 billion over the next decade alone.
To widen progress against vaccine-preventable diseases, the business case recommends an approach that shifts focus from a specific disease to a multi-sector course from infancy to old age.
But funding challenges persist on the continent.
Nigeria is on countdown to polio eradication, after its previous two-year-polio-free run was disrupted.
It has managed to stop transmission of the virus but the certainty is undetermined unless it is able to access children in hard-to-reach areas still under control of Boko Haram insurgents in the north east of the country.
With eradication close, immunisation funding through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is expected to ramp down and end.
Funding from the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative is also uncertain as more African countries approach middle-income status and exit Gavi support.
Angola and Congo this year transitioned from Gavi support, and Nigeria is among countries to enter an “accelerated transition process”.
The process requires them to steadily increase their proportion of local funding to match Gavi support until they begin to finance 100% the cost of their vaccines and immunisation programme.
“The World Health Organization has played a critical role to ensure steadfast support of countries’ immunization programmes for 70 years. We are committed to continue to strengthen our support for years to come,” said Dr Jaouad Mahjour, Acting WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“We know that business as usual will no longer work, which is why we have developed this business case to better understand how we can support Member States in strengthening national immunization programmes."
Differentiated
Regional offices of WHO in Africa and Eastern Mediterranean has mapped countries in the region into four groups according to immunisation maturity, according to documents released in Geneva.
Over time, they will decrease efforts and focus in countries as they move up the maturity scale to ensure nations own and sustain the immunisation programme.
The business case is “strongly anchored in a broader vision to improve accountability and transparency within WHO, in line with the broader WHO Transformation Agenda,” said Dr. 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 immunization is not only a moral imperative – it also makes economic sense.”