In spite of the challenges of political instability and a lack of resources and infrastructure, three small countries in the Western Pacific region are leading the way in demonstrating ownership of vaccine financing. Papua New Guinea is co-financing its pentavalent vaccine entirely on a voluntary basis, while Kiribati and the Solomon Islands are contributing more per dose than is required.

“This is an investment in our future,” says Steven Toikilik, national manager for the Expanded Programme for Immunization in Papua New Guinea.

“By spending money on immunisation, we’re saving on the costs of health care and medicines, and the tragedy of preventable death and disability.”

Kiribati and the Solomon Islands are co-financing their vaccines with the help of UNICEF’s Vaccine Independence Initiative. By pooling vaccine procurement for Pacific Island countries, the Initiative helps to ensure a steady supply of quality vaccines to the region while acting as a line of credit, making vaccine financing more manageable for the countries.

In July 2011, Uganda announced that it had eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus thanks to the efforts of its Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination campaign team. Close to two million women in high-risk districts in Uganda were immunised against tetanus during the period 2002–2009. A validation survey carried out in 2011 confirmed the success of the campaign.

Tetanus is one of the most common deadly consequences of unclean births. It is almost always fatal, especially when appropriate medical care is not available. The disease can be prevented by immunising mothers, and by emphasising hygienic delivery and umbilical cord care practices. Although total eradication is not possible, tetanus is considered eliminated when it causes less than 1 death per 1,000 births in one year.

The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative, which helped to implement the immunisation campaign in Uganda, is supported by public- and private-sector actors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the GAVI Alliance, PATH, UNICEF, USAID/Immunization Basics and WHO. GAVI has contributed over US$ 61 million to the Initiative through funds received from IFFIm.

Hundreds of infants in Kenya received their first shots against pneumococcal disease in early 2011 at an event to celebrate the global roll-out of vaccines targeting the world’s biggest child killer – pneumonia.

Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki joined parents, health workers, ambassadors and donors in Nairobi to witness children being immunised as part of the Government of Kenya’s formal introduction of pneumococcal vaccine in its routine immunisation programme for all children.

Kenya is the first African country to roll out the new AMC-supported pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has been developed specifically with the needs of children in developing countries in mind. The conjugate vaccine is highly complex and sophisticated, and would in the past likely have taken up to 15 years to develop and become available to children in the world’s poorest countries.

Georgia, one of the 16 countries graduating from GAVI support, plans to use information campaigns to further boost its immunisation coverage. Based on revised eligibility criteria, the former Soviet republic will start to phase out GAVI support from 2012.

Georgia’s routine immunisation coverage is 91%, up from 80% in 2000, but public attitudes and lack of information remain the biggest obstacles to increasing immunisation, says Givi Azaurashvili, Georgia’s manager for the Expanded Programme on Immunization.

“Based on the information campaigns that we are planning
to run, we expect that demand for vaccines will increase. Georgia stands firm on its commitment to increase coverage, to increase the budget for immunisation,” he says.

Georgia has already introduced the pentavalent vaccine, plans to roll out the rotavirus vaccine in 2012 and aims to introduce the pneumococcal vaccine in the near future.