GSK and Save the Children have announced the renewal of their alliance for five more years. GSK will invest £15 million in the collaborative project with Save the Children and together they will work to increase childhood vaccination rates, focusing on reducing the number of children with “zero doses” in Ethiopia and Nigeria.
The concept zero sweet (zero dose) refers to children who have never received any vaccine and is a very relevant issue for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and for the World Health Organization in its 2030 Immunization Agenda.
Bringing together the experience of both organizations and the learnings from their 10 years of working together, GSK and Save the Children will develop, test and implement personalized approaches to reach these children with “zero dose” in various settings.
GSK and Save the Children first came together in 2013, sharing expertise, resources, reach and influence to address some of the leading causes of child mortality in low-income countries. To date, through this coalition, they have provided essential health care to more than 3.5 million children, trained and equipped more than 39,000 health professionals in the most remote and marginalized communities, and advocated at the national level. national and global efforts to incorporate stronger policies to protect children’s health.
The next phase of this partnership will focus on one of the most pressing challenges in children’s health: zero-dose boys and girls. Overloaded health systems and lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered the largest decline in immunization in 30 years globally, causing diseases such as polio, measles and cholera to appear in places where they had not been seen before. during decades.
Africa has been the most affected place. This continent has the largest number of children with zero doses in the world: 8.7 million children1. More than a third of them live in Nigeria and Ethiopia, where the impact of the pandemic, poverty, climate change, instability and conflict are disrupting vaccination campaigns.
The Dr. Lia Tadesse, Minister of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, stated: “Dramatically reducing the number of children who have never received a vaccine is essential for national and global development. The Ethiopian government remains committed to the ambitious goal of reducing the number of zero-dose children across our country by 50% by 2025. But none of this would be possible without a global partnership, we will work with GSK and Save the Children in this effort. With their expertise in health, immunization and supply chain, we can break down the barriers that prevent children in our most vulnerable communities from being fully vaccinated.”
The organizations will work together to develop two programs in Nigeria and Ethiopia to help more children receive the vaccines they need to be healthy. Led by communities and working with local health centers, government and other partners, they will develop, test and implement effective approaches to:
– Improve the quality of immunization services, ensuring they can continue to function even in a crisis, whether by training local health professionals or providing solar refrigerators to keep vaccines cold during transport.
– Ensure that vaccination is more inclusive and accessible to all children, using data to track which communities may be missing out on vaccines and helping to reduce the time families spend traveling to access their children’s vaccines .
– Work with “underserved communities”, where there are many children with zero doses, to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines and debunk misinformation.
– Collaborate with the government, community groups and national and global NGOs for more coordinated, comprehensive and effective vaccination campaigns.
Xavier Joubert, national director of Save the Children in Ethiopia, adds: “No child should die from a vaccine-preventable disease. However, the number of cases and mortality rate from diseases such as cholera and measles are increasing in Ethiopia and there is an urgent need to address the barriers that prevent children from accessing routine immunization. We are delighted to announce this renewed partnership with the opportunity to drive change through the next phase of the partnership between Save the Children and GSK. The timing couldn’t be better: world leaders have gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to address universal health coverage. “This issue must be high on the agenda.”
GSK and Save the Children will also launch an incubator for innovative projects, through which they will work with community organizations, national NGOs, local research teams, social enterprises and technology companies to test innovative solutions that help more children receive their vaccines. The most promising approaches will have the opportunity to increase their impact through financial and technical support, and will be able to test their innovations in a real environment.
El Dr. Thomas Breuer, Chief Global Health Officer de GSK, states: “Vaccines are one of the most impactful health interventions that exist, but many families cannot access them to benefit from the protection they offer. By working with Save the Children, we can help more children stay healthy and more parents protect their children from preventable diseases. “At GSK we are pleased to renew our commitment, building on a decade of partnership that has had a significant impact on improving health outcomes for millions of the most vulnerable children.”
The alliance will conduct research to show why and how the solutions they will implement work, so that others can scale up or replicate successful interventions. Working with national and global academic collaborators, GSK and Save the Children will share knowledge to help fill potential gaps and catalyze global efforts to increase vaccinations and reduce the burden of infectious diseases.
Fuentes: GSK y Save the Children
2023-09-21 15:15:55
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