GAVI, Save the Children Make Immunisation Move

By Development Diaries
April 6, 2021

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) and Save the Children say their partnership will strengthen vaccination efforts in poor countries.

GAVI and Save the Children signed a memorandum of understanding with a view to enhancing health services to reach zero-dose children in marginalised and hard-to-reach communities.

The partnership, it was gathered, aims to leverage Save the Children’s existing presence and expertise in GAVI-supported countries, including 40 African countries, in order to implement immunisation and related programmes.

It was gathered that despite enormous progress, over the past two decades, in ensuring children everywhere have access to life-saving immunisation, 20 million still miss out on basic vaccines every year.

The agreement is therefore designed to focus on sharing of key learnings, best practices, and innovative approaches including using existing platforms.

‘Our vision is to close the equity gap and leave no one behind with immunisation’, GAVI Deputy CEO Anuradha Gupta said.

‘We know a disproportionate number of children who are not receiving vaccines come from hard-to-reach areas including fragile and conflict settings.

‘We are therefore delighted to partner with Save the Children whose worldwide network and deep expertise will enable us to reach them’.

Also speaking, Save the children CEO, Kevin Watkins, says many children who go without immunisation live in the toughest places to reach.

‘Worldwide, 160 million children live in high-intensity conflict zones. While progress has been made, too many others still live in remote, marginalised communities with little or no healthcare’, Watkins added.

‘For 100 years, [we have] been finding new ways to help children who need us most, no matter where [they are] growing up.

‘This new partnership between Save the Children and GAVI will play a crucial role in helping to reach these children and their families.

‘We will go where governments and other partners often cannot, focusing on innovative approaches to immunisation’.

In addition, the partnership will support equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines by engaging with community champions on joint activities.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about three million children under five years of age die each year in Africa. A significant number of these deaths could be prevented by vaccines.