New vaccines roll out in three African countries

Jun 30th, 2011 6:31 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Last month, we launched “Vaccines and Voodoo in Benin, Africa,” an original documentary that reports on some of the unique partnerships that the medical officials and voodoo practitioners in Benin have made to help save lives through vaccines. But it looks like those who work on child health in the country will have a lot more work to do in the coming weeks.

The government of Benin, as well as those of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon, announced today that they are working with GAVI to introduce vaccines to combat pneumonia, one of the biggest killers of children worldwide. As the vaccines come in, countries will have to work with many kinds of people — government officials, NGOs, community leaders, health care workers, and yes, even shamans — to guarantee a successful roll out.

This good news comes off the back of a recent GAVI victory. Just a few weeks ago, donors around the world committed a whopping $4.3 billion in additional funding to GAVI over the next five years to support the roll-out of new and underutilized vaccines.

“The introduction of this vaccine represents a major milestone for our young generation. This new vaccine gives them hope today that they will grow up healthy and lead a productive future,” says Dr. Jean Michel Mandaba, minister of Health of the Central African Republic.

Pneumococcal disease, the leading cause of pneumonia, is the major cause of death among children under the age of five. It is also responsible for meningitis, which can leave survivors with disabilities like mental retardation and seizures.

The roll-outs of these vaccines in the CAR, Benin and Cameroon will start taking place next month and will help make a positive impact on the mortality rates of of children in these countries. Undoubtedly, the roll-outs will face challenges and will take a great deal of effort from many actors—but we know from past vaccination campaigns that the work is doable and the results are incredible.

So, congratulations to GAVI and the governments of these three African nations. We wish you the best on your vaccine roll-outs. And if you haven’t watched our “Vaccines and Voodoo” documentary yet, watch it here.

TAGS: Benin, GAVI, ONE, Power of Vaccines