Vaccination campaign gets US $20 million boost

Due to its improved performance in vaccinating children against diseases, the government of Tanzania is due to receive some US $20 million over five years for immunisation against preventable diseases, the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation has announced. The money, which would be spent on purchasing vaccines and ensuring that they reach all parts of the country, may be increased depending on the country's performance in implementing the campaign. "Between 2000 and 2002, Tanzania increased immunisation coverage from 70 percent to 89 percent. This is a very big increase," Tore Godall, the alliance's executive secretary, told IRIN on Wednesday. "They have done very well and, as we have been doing, for every child over the immunisation target, the country will receive an extra $20," he said. Godall said that the alliance was committed to providing the $20 million between 2002 and 2006, by which time the government and other donors would be stepping up their contribution to fund immunisation. However, if the government began paying more and earlier, the alliance's donation could be spent over a longer period, he added. The alliance is a private-public partnership between developing and donor countries, vaccine manufacturers, the UN Children's Fund, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It was launched in 2001 to fight declining immunisation rates and growing disparities in access to vaccines among the world's poorest countries. The diseases that are being targeted are tuberculosis, polio, whooping cough, diphtheria, measles, tetanus and hepatitis B. The WHO epidemiologist in Tanzania, Dr Cornelia Atsyor, put the country's success in increasing coverage of immunisation to careful analysis of the situation and focussed distribution. "Where there was poor coverage, they invested in bicycles," she said. In addition, she said outreach programmes were carried out at the peripheral level and social mobilisation took place to boost support at the local level. "They promoted training to upgrade the skills of health workers and funds were made available to improve service delivery in low performance areas," she added. Although the alliance was impressed with the services provided in Tanzania, Godall said that with 24 percent of vaccines being wasted after the vials were opened, there was room for improvement in some areas. And, while the alliance was producing results and efficient mechanisms had been put in place, Godall was concerned about countries that were still riddled with conflict and whose vaccination programmes were not moving forward. "Where there is war, it is very difficult to carry out these campaigns," he said.