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The Global Campaign for Child Immunization
A new campaign is being launched to support GAVI's efforts to close the gap between those children who have access to all available vaccines and those in the poorest countries who do not.
Life or death for a young child too often depends on whether he is born in a country where vaccines are available or not...the issue is of fundamental fairness.
- Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa |
Thanks to its rapid start-up and early achievements, The Vaccine Fund has committed about 95% of its available resources to improve immunization services in almost 70 countries by the end of 2003. The challenge now is to replenish The Vaccine Fund so that these achievements can be taken to their full scale.
Despite significant gains, millions of children remain without access to the most basic primary health care, including immunization. The Vaccine Fund's goal over the coming years is to work with all partners to build upon the initial success and expand the availability of child immunization to children not yet reached. To achieve this, additional resources are needed for strengthening of health systems, purchase of vaccines and injection equipment, training and specific immunization services support. GAVI and The Vaccine fund will aim to save one million lives by 2006.
With The Vaccine Fund, GAVI partners have begun to address a core underlying issue in global public health whose implications have meant disease and death for millions of children -- the enormous life and death gap between children in industrialized countries who have access to and are provided vaccines and those in the poorest countries who either have not had access to all available vaccines or are not being reached at all. The notion that all children should have such access to basic health care has already been enshrined in international human rights law, the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
However, it will take continued concerted focus, partnership and resources to ensure that GAVI's promise of access to all available vaccines for the world's poorest children. It will take global commitment and additional resources to achieve this. The Campaign for Child Immunization seeks to do two things: To increase awareness in industrialized countries of the gross inequity between North and South with regard to access to available vaccines, and to urge donor governments, foundations and private sector leaders to support the efforts of the GAVI partners to address this inequity and increase the available resources for health and immunization.
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Resources
GAVI Progress & Challenges 2004
GAVI fact sheets
Statements
OPED piece by Queen Rania of Jordan; Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland; and Jens Stoltenberg, former Prime Minister of Norway (PDF - 12K)
Vaccines for all the children: From vision to reality - by Jens Stoltenberg (PDF - 32K)
Press Releases
15 April 2004: Press Statement by Former South African President Mandela and Graca Machel
27 February 2004: GAVI and The Vaccine Fund Launch New Drive to Save 1 Million Children
Select Coverage
15 April 2004: Mandela, Machel meet former Norwegian PM
SABC (South African Broadcast Corporation)
Related Coverage
April 2004: Helping Tradition Meet Modernity - Queen Rania one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people
Time.com (subscription required)
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