Improving access to affordable vaccines for middle-income countries in the african region.

Despite the remarkable power of immunization reducing morbidity and mortality due to vaccine preventable diseases, one in five African children still does not receive all the basic, necessary vaccines. This is particularly true of the 10 middle-income countries (MICs) in the WHO African Region, where data demonstrates that immunization coverage is decreasing. These countries are not eligible for Gavi support in accessing new vaccines because of their relatively high per capita income level and will gradually increase with the transitioning of countries out of Gavi support. Thus, WHO was requested to facilitate access to affordable vaccines in relation to middle-income countries and those transitioning out of Gavi support in the near future. With commitment to address the issue, WHO Regional Office for Africa convened a consultative meeting from 09 to 11 April 2018 in Brazzaville, Congo to explore ways of improving access to affordable vaccines for MICs in the Region. The meeting brought together 17 low, middle and upper middle income countries in the African Region. Immunization partners and other WHO Regions also participated in the consultation to share experiences and explore ways of increasing access to affordable vaccines in MICs in the African Region. At the end of the meeting a number of solutions and action points were proposed for implementation in the Region.

Government financing for health and specific national budget lines: the case of vaccines and immunization.

A long standing question related to immunization financing and sustainability has been whether the existence of a specific line item for vaccines purchasing within the national health budget can contribute significantly to increasing national government financing of vaccines and routine immunizations. Based on immunization financing indicators from 185 countries collected through the joint WHO and UNICEF monitoring system, this paper attempts to answer this policy question. The study will present findings related to the status of countries that have such specific budget lines for purchasing vaccines and the levels of national budgetary allocation to the financing of vaccines and immunizations, particularly in low-income countries. The analysis shows evidence that the existence ofa specific line in the national budget is associated with increased governmental budget allocations for vaccines and routine immunization financing.