With a view to ensure that childhood vaccination becomes a key priority for the new Indian government, GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in poor countries, has called for renewed efforts in India to bolster routine immunisation coverage and protect more children from vaccine preventable disease. The association stressed that immunisation is one of the best investments for future generations of Indian children, especially with vaccines making a broader contribution to human and economic development.

The call comes during the launch of GAVI’s replenishment in Brussels, in Belgium, where it set out an investment case for donors to back ambitious plans to immunise an additional 300 million children globally between 2016 and 2020, saving between five and six million lives. Currently, 1.5 million children still die each year of vaccine preventable disease, and one in five children worldwide do not receive a full course of even the most basic vaccines. With a birth cohort of 26 million infants, India is home to the largest number of these unimmunised children - 6.8 million or roughly a third of the world’s total.
 
“The case for increasing immunisation coverage is clear -to protect the most vulnerable children from leading causes of death and disease - and India will play a vital role in realising that. By accelerating access to new and underused vaccines we can enable more of the world’s poorest children to grow up healthier, so they can spend more time at school and have a better opportunity to live healthy and productive lives,”said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance.

With GAVI Alliance support this year India will continue the national roll out of the 5-in-1 pentavalent vaccine, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type B disease. GAVI will also provide US$ 107 million over three years, until 2016, towards health system strengthening in India targeting lower performing states. This will help India maintain the momentum and capitalise on the success of its polio campaign to strengthen routine immunisation nationally.

“In January 2014 India became GAVI’s newest donor, and the first implementing country to do so, this demonstrates India’s continued leadership in immunisation and is a testament to its willingness to contribute to reducing child mortality. Additionally we look forward to working with the new government in its initiatives to ensure that all Indian children have access to the benefits of a full range of vaccines,” informed Dr Berkley.

The Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. GAVI uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, GAVI has contributed to the immunisation of an additional 440 million children and the prevention of approximately 6 million future deaths.