New Global Vaccine Action Plan does not go far enough, says MSF

A new, 10-year, multi-billion dollar action plan for global vaccination may fail to deliver if it does not directly address the weaknesses in routine immunization programs. 19 million children are being missed each year and this challenge must be explicitly addressed, the medical humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said yesterday.

These comments came as MSF launched a new report, The Right Shot: Extending the Reach of Affordable and Adapted Vaccines, outlining the price and adaptation barriers to reaching more children with life-saving vaccines. To access the report, visit www.msfaccess.org/content/rightshot

A “Global Vaccines Action Plan” has been designed to implement the “Decade of Vaccines” project and will be considered by Health Ministers gathering next week in Geneva, Switzerland, for the 65th World Health Assembly. MSF welcomed the increased emphasis on vaccines stimulated by the Decade of Vaccines but expressed concern that some key challenges are being glossed over.