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Advocacy for immunisation

This is a space for those who are working to improve immunisation systems and access to vaccines, particularly in resource-poor settings. It aims to help you to find ideas, resources and guidance to advocate for strengthened commitment to vaccines and immunisation to save lives.

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MAKING THE CASE FOR IMMUNISATION AND VACCINES

Our shared vision: a world where all children are reached with vaccines

  • Thanks to the power of vaccines, more and more children around the world are growing up healthier. This means they can spend more time at school, which paves the road for a healthy and productive life.

    But not all children everywhere are able to access all recommended vaccines. While efforts have been successful to get more vaccines to more countries around the world, the rates of coverage of immunisation vary within countries, between communities and across the range of vaccines currently available.

    More must be done to improve coverage rates, increase equitable access and uptake of vaccines, and ensure secure and stable funding for immunisation.

  • The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), building on WHO’s Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS), sets out five goals in order to reach the vision of a world in which all individuals and communities enjoy lives free from vaccine-preventable diseases by 2020. The World Health Assembly members – all 194 countries – endorsed the plan in 2012 and are working towards its achievement.

    Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance was founded in 2000 to ensure low-income countries could access life-saving vaccines for their people, particularly young children. Gavi and its global, regional and national partners have worked together to immunise an additional 440 million children in that time, which will save six million lives.

THE 5 GOALS OF THE GLOBAL VACCINE ACTION PLAN (GVAP)

  • goal-1Achieve a world free of poliomyelitis
  • goal-2Meet vaccine coverage targets in every region, country and community
  • goal-3Exceed the MDG Goal 4 target for reducing child mortality
  • goal-4Meet global and regional elimination targets
  • goal-5Develop and introduce new and improved vaccines and technologies

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Our shared goal: commitment to creating strong immunisation systems

In many countries the coverage rates of basic vaccines for young children have levelled off, and in some sub-national districts and communities the rates are much too low or even declining. Not all children or communities have an equitable opportunity of accessing and using vaccines.

Vaccines need a strong immunisation system so they can be delivered to everyone. That includes making sure there is adequate financing to get the job done. This calls for action from all levels: the global health community, national and sub-national governments, to communities, civil society organisations and individuals.

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Challenges and opportunities for advocates

Equity and coverage

  • Examine the coverage rates nationally and sub-nationally in order to maintain or increase the number of children being ‘fully immunised’ – having received all vaccines for their age as designated by their national immunisation programme.
  • Develop approaches and strategies – including involving civil society – to ‘reach the unreached’. Ensure all children have an equitable opportunity to utilise vaccines.

The immunisation delivery system

  • Weaknesses across the immunisation delivery system must be addressed, including: supply chain; service delivery; demand-generation; and data quality.
  • As new vaccines become available and are introduced, it will be critical to ensure the system can accommodate their delivery.

Financial resources

  • Countries must ensure adequate budget and funding to maintain and strengthen the immunisation system and provide all available vaccines to all children.
  • As many Gavi-eligible countries move towards and reach ‘graduation’ – the point at which they will assume full responsibility for funding their vaccines – they will need to secure ongoing budget allocations and funding to sustain immunisation.

There are challenges – and opportunities – that need to be addressed. Advocacy can help to move the needle from problem to solution.

Find out more in the accordion menu to the right.

EQUITY AND COVERAGE ARE AT THE HEART OF GAVI’S NEW STRATEGY

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has a new strategy for 2016-2020 which puts equity within countries at its heart, while still emphasizing the introduction of new vaccines.

The new strategy aims to:

  1. Accelerate equitable uptake and coverage of vaccines
  2. Increase effectiveness and efficiency of immunisation delivery
  3. Improve sustainability of national immunisation programmes
  4. Shape markets for vaccines and other immunisation products

By 2020, Gavi expects the Alliance will be able to reach nearly ONE BILLION CHILDREN with life-saving vaccines, which will unlock over 100 billion dollars in economic benefits and productivity gains.

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