Bill Gates
17 May 2011
The Nation
Opinion
Nairobi — Last year I called for the world to accelerate progress on vaccines because they are one of the best long-term investments we can make. They are inexpensive, easy to deliver, and proven to prevent disease and give children a healthy start to life.
Today, I am more optimistic than ever before about the future impact of vaccines. With the commitment of government leaders in Africa and around the world, we can save four million lives by 2015 and 10 million by 2020.
I believe that the next 10 years will live up to the name "Decade of Vaccines" if we accomplish three things.
First, I envision that polio will be eradicated. While this crippling disease has been eliminated in 99 per cent of the world and tamed in Africa, there is no room for complacency.
We need to improve the management and execution of polio campaigns and ensure that political leaders at the highest levels are addressing polio as an emergency.
Second, I believe by the end of the decade, five to six new vaccines will be available to all countries at prices they can afford to pay. Third, all countries will have built a system to deliver vaccines to every child.
Strong immunisation systems will be what helps us with our first two goals, putting an end to polio and reaching all children with new vaccines.
At the World Health Assembly this week, I will call upon all countries to pledge to meet vaccine coverage targets of 90 per cent at the country level, with no district below 80 per cent.
Some countries already are doing a great job. Bangladesh, Nicaragua, and Rwanda routinely vaccinate 90 per cent of their infants each year. But there are countries in Africa where some children never get a single vaccine and reaching these targets will take an unwavering commitment from leaders.
What can African leaders do to take advantage of exciting vaccine innovations? They should start by holding themselves accountable to promises made in the Abuja Declaration.
In 2001, African countries pledged to spend 15 per cent of their annual budgets on health. While 27 countries have increased their health spending, only South Africa and Rwanda have met this target.
Another eight countries are on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals on health. Leadership and investment in vaccine delivery are critical to making progress toward achieving these goals.
Africa has a precious opportunity right now to make vaccines central to their health system. A new vaccine for pneumonia -- the world's biggest killer of children under five -- was launched in Kenya last year.
A new vaccine for meningitis A, the deadly brain disease, was introduced in some of Africa's worst hit areas -- Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
This new vaccine, MenAfriVac, is the first to be developed specifically for Africans, at an affordable cost of just 50 cents per dose. It has already reached more than 19.5 million people, with hopes of reaching all 25 countries in the "meningitis belt" across the Sahel, and 300 million people by 2015.
I'm also calling upon donor countries to increase their investments in vaccines and immunisations. There is a major conference next month where donors will pledge how much they will contribute to the GAVI Alliance, the global organisation that funds vaccine programmes in poor countries.
Finally, I'm asking pharmaceutical manufacturers to make a commitment to affordable pricing. With the partnership of manufacturers, I'm confident we can cut the combined price of pentavalent, pneumococcus, and rotavirus vaccines in half by 2016.
At the Gates Foundation, we are committed to working with all our partners to do the difficult, but necessary things. With the necessary leadership, I'm confident we can accomplish this.
In recognition of the importance of leadership, starting in 2012, the Gates Foundation will bestow an award on an individual or organisation that has made a uniquely innovative contribution to the Decade of Vaccines.
This could be innovation in the science, delivery, or financing of vaccines. My goal is to make sure that pioneering global health leaders get the credit they deserve.
I'm convinced that together we can build a future in which global health is the cornerstone of global prosperity. When every human being has access to good health, the world will be transformed.
Bill Gates is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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