Gavi and Government of India establish new partnership to protect millions of children by 2026
Gavi will provide US$ 250 million in funding to reach zero-dose children – those who have not received a single routine vaccine shot – through a renewed strategic partnership with the Government of India
This partnership also aims to build stronger demand for vaccines, strengthen health systems and help introduce the HPV and typhoid vaccines into routine immunisation, with the goal to decrease the number of zero-dose children in India by 30% by 2026
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi: “Through action and innovation at the national and subnational levels, India has shown what can be achieved to improve access to routine immunisation services. We look forward to working closely with the Government of India to build on this progress and we support the country’s G20 vision.”
Geneva, 3 February 2023 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Government of India have established a new three-year partnership that aims to reach millions of children in the country with life-saving vaccines. Through the strategic partnership, Gavi will provide US$ 250 million in funding to identify and vaccinate children who have not received a single routine vaccine, strengthen existing health systems and help the country introduce the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into the national routine immunisation schedule.
To effectively reach the goal of reducing the number of “zero-dose” children in the country by 30%, 143 priority districts have been identified across 11 states: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. In the districts where immunisation coverage is low, targeted interventions and strategies will be used to ensure children receive the full course of childhood vaccines. Civil society organisations (CSOs) and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) will also be engaged to help build stronger demand for vaccines and generate better understanding of the importance of vaccination amongst target communities. Lessons learnt from these engagements will be replicated and expanded to other areas in the country and leveraged to strengthen routine immunisation across the nation.
“Thanks to India’s political commitment at the highest levels, and through action and innovation at the national and subnational levels, India has shown what can be achieved to improve access to routine immunisation services across the country – especially for marginalised populations. We look forward to working closely with the Government of India to build on this progress, support more communities and protect millions more children from vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “We also support India’s G20 Presidency and its vision to better prepare for future pandemics.”
The number of zero-dose children in India decreased from 6.8 million in 2000 to 1.6 million in 2019. However, disruptions caused by the pandemic led to an increase in the number of zero-dose children globally including India, in which there were 2.7 million zero-dose children in 2021.
Gavi is intensifying its efforts to reach zero-dose children and missed communities to reduce the number of zero-dose children by 25% by 2025, leveraging the power of innovation and new partnerships. In June 2022, Gavi launched the Zero-Dose Immunization Programme (ZIP) – an innovative initiative that is providing two consortia of partners with up to US$ 100 million to identify and reach zero-dose children living in displaced communities and fragile and conflict settings across Africa.
India has long championed digital technologies and innovative health solutions, and this will continue to be a priority throughout its G20 presidency, under the G20 Health Track. For example, the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) originally designed in 2015 with support from Gavi and partners, to monitor vaccine supply chains in real time was adapted during the pandemic (and branded as Co-WIN) to ensure COVID-19 vaccines reach as many people as possible. Gavi will feature this and other innovative solutions in upcoming G20 dialogues to help shape the Digital Health agenda.
Collaboration between Gavi and India
Over the past 21 years, Gavi has supported the Government of India to accelerate the introductions of the Hepatitis B, Pentavalent, Inactivated Poliovirus, Rotavirus, Measles-Rubella and Pneumococcal vaccines and has provided US$ 1.7 billion in funding. The Government systematically scales up new vaccines to high levels of coverage and fully funds doses after a few years of Gavi support. View more information on Gavi’s support to India here.
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 981 million children – and prevented more than 16.2 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. In its role, Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.
