New and underused vaccines
GAVI’s New and Underused Vaccines programme addresses the urgent need to accelerate access to vaccines in the poor countries that parents in developed countries take for granted
Prior to GAVI, 12 to 15 years would pass between the introduction of new vaccines and their implementation in the developing world. In 2000, this time lag meant nearly 30 million infants were not receiving vaccines that parents in richer countries take for granted when they take their newborn children to the local pediatrican.
NVS objectives
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GAVI’s New and Underused Vaccines support programme (NVS) was set to close this gap and help fund the introduction of new and underused vaccines in developing countries. As with other GAVI programmes, the Alliance invites the world’s poorest countries to develop plans and submit proposals for introducing pre-existing or newly developed life-saving vaccines to their national immunisation programmes.
Eligible countries can currently apply for NVS support for one or more of the following vaccines:
Haemophilus influenzae B (Hib)
In 1999, 14 years after Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines had reached rich countries, only one poor country – The Gambia - had added the vaccine to their immunisation programme. Today, with GAVI suport, large numbers of poor countries have made Hib vaccines part of their national immunisation programmes. From 2000-2010, 267 million children received the Hib vaccines as a result of GAVI support, helping avert 560,000 future deaths (Source: WHO 2010).
Hepatitis B
GAVI’s Second Evaluation Report (2010) concluded that the average number of country introductions per year of hepatitis B (hepB) vaccines increased three-fold following the introduction of GAVI support. By 2010, 267 million children had been immunised against hepB thanks to GAVI support, averting 3.4 million future deaths.
Measles (2nd dose)
Second dose vaccination support will be provided by GAVI if it is included in a country’s comprehensive multi-year plan and measles first dose coverage exceeds 80 percent.
Meningococcal A
The new conjugate meningitis A vaccine is essential to eradicating deadly epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa’s “meningitis belt”. GAVI supports preventive campaigns and, where countries contribute their own payments, routine immunisation.
Pneumococcal
GAVI support means that, for the first time in immunisation history, a new vaccine is reaching the world’s poorest and richest children in the same year.
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Rotavirus
If donor funding is available to meet country demand, GAVI plans to introduce rotavirus vaccine in 44 countries by 2015, immunising some 58 million children – only a few years after the vaccine reached rich countries.
Yellow Fever
With Yellow Fever starting to make a comeback, GAVI support can be used to top-up existing routine immunisation programmes or cover the operational costs of preventive campaigns.
Application process for NVS
GAVI’s independent review committee, made-up largely of developing country public health experts, reviews the proposals and makes recommendations. If the GAVI Board approves the recommendations, funds are released to support individual countries’ introduction of vaccines.
There is no limit to the number of vaccines that a country can apply for in a single application round, but only one vaccine per country will be funded per application round and applicants must propose an introduction date within two years of the actual application round. Countries can also request support for the partial introduction of a vaccine or a phased rollout. In addition, GAVI funds auto-disable (AD) syringes and safety boxes, sent to successful country applicants together with the vaccines.
All countries must co-finance GAVI-supported vaccines, except for measles second dose and preventative campaigns for yellow fever and meningitis A; in no case will GAVI support replace government funds already allocated for the purchase of vaccines.
Initially, the NVS programme provided five-year support grants with the expectation that countries would cover continued vaccination cost after GAVI’s support ended. This assumed that GAVI’s business model would drive down the price of vaccines within five years to the point where poor countries could afford to pay themselves. When it became apparent that vaccine prices were not dropping quickly enough, GAVI revised its support timelines to be based on country planning cycles.
Today, countries can only request NVS support for the duration of comprehensive Multi-Year Plans (cMYP) for immunization – this ensures that vaccine rollouts are aligned with the national health and budgetary planning process.
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