Fifth GAVI Board Meeting, 21-22 June 2001, London, England

June 2001

Alignment with accelerated disease control intitiatives

Discussion

The scope of work and insight captured in the paper was appreciated by the Board.

The issue of reducing childhood mortality from measles, meningitis and other child killers is very important to African countries.

Better integration of disease control initiatives within health systems is crucial; we missed some opportunities in the polio campaign to strengthen capacity for maintaining sustainable services.

There are many positive lessons to learn from the polio eradication initiative concerning how to reach every child; it is encumbent upon us now to use those lessons to develop systematic outreach strategies in countries with difficult-to-reach populations.

At this stage in the polio eradication efforts, countries will appreciate a clear statement from GAVI partners that they support eradication. Any efforts to better align immunization efforts must be designed so as not to disrupt or compromise the investments and ongoing efforts in polio eradication.

Efforts to increase coordination between disease control initiatives will have an impact on the work of all GAVI entities – the Board, Working Group, Secretariat, and task forces. The Advocacy Task Force will need to urgently address issues raised by alignment.

In order to ascertain how staff currently funded by the polio eradication initiative should be utilized in the future, it will be important to have an analysis of human resource capacity and shortfalls in countries, including financial implications.

It is very important for GAVI to cooperate and collaborate with other immunization and health initiatives, but it is equally important for GAVI to maintain its sharp focus and efficient operations. A balance must be found.

DECISIONS

The Board:

• approved the establishment of a new objective and milestone:
  
  Objective: To support the national and international accelerated disease control targets for vaccine-preventable diseases.
  
  Milestone: By 2005, the world will be certified polio-free.
  
  and requested that the Working Group consult with partners to identify appropriate of disease outcome indicators (polio, measles, MNT and vitamin A);
  
  
• approved the proposed direction to work towards integration of all immunization initiatives by placing renewed emphasis on GAVI's first objective to "improve access to sustainable immunization services".
  
  In practice, this will mean that as soon as possible and no later than 2003, all countries’ annual work plans, and subsequent multiyear plans, reflect an approach that incorporates routine services, accelerated disease control, introduction of new vaccines, and vitamin A supplementation within the context of the health system. Targets in the national plans would need to match available resources. For this approach to work, it would have to be technically and financially supported by all partners at all levels, especially through their participation in national and regional Inter-Agency Coordinating Committees (ICC's) and regional working groups;
  
  
  • agreed to consider a revision of all GAVI objectives, milestones, and indicators to support the full operationalization of this strategic direction, at an appropriate time in the near future;
    
    
  • requested that, over the next few months, the Working Group further elaborate on the framework for this strategy and its implications for the national workplans and ICCs, and regional and global activities;
    
    
• approved a revision of objective #2*as follows: "Expand the use of all existing safe and cost-effective vaccines, and promote delivery of other appropriate interventions at immunization contacts";

*Current GAVI objective #2 is: "Expand the use of all existing safe and cost-effective vaccines."

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