Addressing the persistent inequities in immunization coverage

• Published in: Bulletin of the World Health Organization Vol. 98; no. 2; pp. 146 - 148
• Main Authors: Chopra, Mickey, Bhutta, Zulfiqar, Chang Blanc, Diana, Checchi, Francesco, Gupta, Anuradha, Lemango, Ephrem T, Levine, Orin S, Lyimo, Dafrossa, Nandy, Robin, O'Brien, Katherine L, Okwo-Bele, Jean-Marie, Rees, Helen, Soepardi, Jane, Tolhurst, Rachel, Victora, Cesar G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland World Health Organization 01.02.2020
• Subjects: Access; Alliances; Artificial intelligence; Beneficiaries; Budgets; Campaigns; Children; Childrens health; Cost analysis; Developing Countries; Diphtheria; Dosage; Drugs; Empowerment; Families & family life; Gender; Global Health; Health initiatives; Healthcare Disparities - statistics & numerical data; Herd immunity; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Immunization; Immunization Programs - organization & administration; Infants; Information systems; Intervention; National health insurance; Poliomyelitis; Public health; Quality; Rural Population; Sex Factors; Sustainable development; Technological change; Teenagers; Tetanus; Vaccination Coverage - statistics & numerical data; Vaccines; Whooping cough; Womens health; World Health Organization; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0042-9686; 1564-0604
• DOI: 10.2471/BLT.19.241620

A key focus of the health-related sustainable development goal (SDG) 3 is universal health coverage (UHC), including access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines. However, the challenges to achieving UHC are substantial, especially with increased demands on the health sector and with most budgets being static or shrinking.1Immunization programmes have been successful in reaching children worldwide. For example, 86% of the world's infants had received three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine in 2018.2 The experiences from such programmes can contribute to UHC, and as these programmes strive to adapt to new global strategic frameworks, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance's strategy Gavi 5.0 and the World Health Organization's (WHO) Immunization Agenda 2030, these efforts can inform the progressive realization of UHC. Immunization programmes that can sustain regular levels of contact between health providers and beneficiaries at the community level have enabled new vaccines to be added to routine immunization schedules and other interventions to be delivered to children and their families. In addition, experiences from both polio campaigns and the child health days strategy show that incorporating additional interventions into campaigns can increase coverage of these interventions as well as of vaccinations.3'4