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Collaborating to achieve Global Vaccine Action Plan goals

Saturday, 29th of July 2017

The Lancet, Volume 390, No. 10093, p451–452, 29 July 2017

Correspondence

Collaborating to achieve Global Vaccine Action Plan goals

Alan R Hinman, 

Walter A OrensteinEmail the author Walter A Orenstein

Published: 29 July 2017

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31370-3

In their Comment, Margaret Chan and colleagues¹ (Feb 25, p 777) highlight the progress being made to achieve the goals of the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP)² and the results of the mid-term review of progress issued by WHOs Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunisation.³ They also summarise the remaining challenges and call on all stakeholders to do more to achieve GVAP goals.

We believe the remaining challenges fall into six categories: inadequate support by donors and governments to strengthen ongoing immunisation services, insufficient stress on and support for surveillance to guide programme strategies and operations, too little learning from outbreak investigations, deficient communication or collaboration between the various components of the global immunisation enterprise, inequities among and within countries, and unsatisfactory national commitments to sustain immunisation programmes into the future.

Although mechanisms to facilitate coordination and cooperation between global immunisation partners currently exist, they are insufficient to address the many unmet needs of countries and partners and to provide the structure and support needed to achieve the GVAP goals. A new approach is urgently needed. We propose convening a new GVAP coalition that is complementary to existing mechanisms of partner coordination and whose aims are to achieve the GVAP goals, including its disease reduction targets, by taking a global perspective that encompasses all countries. The coalitions primary purpose would be to work at global and national levels to facilitate collaborative action, contributing to and building from what now exists and involving a broader range of partner organisations. The coalition would also serve as a collaborative mechanism for advocacy, resource mobilisation, and accountability.

We declare no competing interests.

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