Millions of children to be protected from disease due to vaccine supply agreement

International provider of vaccine deliver, Gavi, has welcomed a new vaccine supply agreement that will help millions of children be protected from five diseases.

The agreement has been made by children’s rights and emergency organisation UNICEF, who successfully secured the Pentavalent vaccine for half the cost of its original price. The vaccine will be available from a broad range of manufacturers at less than $1.

The vaccine prevents the diseases, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Hib, Haemophilus influenza type b, which is the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia and otitis.

UNICEF will buy 450 million doses to send to over 80 countries over the next three years. 400 million of the vaccines will go to Gavi-supported and transitioning countries.

Countries procuring the vaccine through Gavi and UNICEF are expected to save around $366 million. Gavi expect the Pentavalent vaccine to have prevented 5.7 million deaths in the organisation’s supported countries by 2020.

Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, spoke about the market for five-in-one vaccines saying: “The market for five-in-one vaccines is now a lot healthier than it was just a few years ago thanks to our collective efforts to grow a base of vaccine suppliers. We remain committed to making vaccine markets work better for the world’s poorest countries to ensure immunisation investments and efforts are sustainable for all.”

Since 2001 an affordable and sustainable pentavalent vaccine supply has been achieved for children in the world’s poorest countries. This has been made possible through strong collaboration between Gavi Alliance Partners such as, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO and UNICEF.

With regards to the newly acquired Pentavalent vaccine price, Gavi intends to sustain a healthy vaccine market. It will do this by securing sufficient supply to meet demand, by providing sufficient buffer supply capacity and by managing individual supplier and national regulatory authority risks.

Dr Berkley concluded “Preventing illness through immunisation can have a huge impact on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, communities and countries. The vaccine industry is a vital partner in ensuring that sufficient quantities of quality vaccines are available at affordable prices so that countries and donors implement sustainable immunisation programmes, increase coverage and promote equitable access to vaccines.”