GAVI Alliance: priority for seven new vaccines

The Geneva, Switzerland-based Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance), which unites global health agencies, governments and private partners, has announced plans to focus on seven new vaccines aimed at preventing millions of people contracting cervical cancer, cholera, typhoid, meningitis A, rabies, Japanese encephalitis and rubella. The goal is to make immunization campaigns available in developing countries.

Julian Lob-Levyt, the GAVI Alliance's executive secretary, said: "since GAVI began in 2000, we have increased access to immunization for 176 million children, resulting in an estimated 2.9 million lives saved. But other diseases continue to kill. Cervical cancer, for example, affects 500,000 women each year and leads to more than 250,000 deaths, the vast majority in poor countries."

Over the coming months, the GAVI Alliance, which currently offers countries support for the delivery of vaccines against hepatitis B, Hib, yellow fever, rotavirus and pneumococcal disease, will assess the priority vaccines relative to country demand as well as resource and vaccine availability. The group's board will meet later this year to take decisions on GAVI's financial commitment and implementation of the strategy.