A press release from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), dated 10 June 2002 and datelined New Delhi, New York and Geneva, announced that India’s Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had launched a new initiative to vaccinate children against hepatitis B. The same release announced financial support for the initiative from GAVI and the Vaccine Fund.
This page summarizes what the 2002 announcement said: what the pilot covered, how GAVI and the Vaccine Fund supported it, and why hepatitis B was a priority in India.
What the pilot covered
- Hepatitis B vaccine for children in slum areas of 15 cities and in 32 rural districts.
- About two million eligible infants in the first phase.
- A phased expansion during India’s Tenth Five-Year Plan, so that hepatitis B vaccination could become part of routine immunization services.
Support from GAVI and the Vaccine Fund
After an application from the Indian government and its partners, GAVI and the Vaccine Fund awarded India US$4.1 million over two years. The money supported the introduction of hepatitis B vaccine into India’s immunization program, which did not include the vaccine at that time.
The support covered selected areas only. The announcement described it as a first step toward hepatitis B vaccination for every child in India. Jacques François Martin, President of the Vaccine Fund, said the partners hoped the funds would be “a catalyst to expand access to hepatitis B vaccine for all children in India.”
Safer injections with auto-disable syringes
The pilot also introduced auto-disable (AD) syringes. An AD syringe has a built-in mechanism that prevents re-use, which stops the spread of diseases such as hepatitis B and HIV through re-used needles. WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies had adopted a joint injection-safety policy that called for AD syringes in all immunization by the end of 2003.
Why hepatitis B was a priority in India
The 2002 announcement cited estimates that hepatitis B infection caused 60% of liver disease and 80% of liver cancer cases in India. Hepatitis B infection can stay silent for many years before it damages the liver, so its toll is easy to miss. Unlike HIV, hepatitis B can be prevented with an effective vaccine.
Carol Bellamy, Chair of the GAVI Board and Executive Director of UNICEF, described the goal as “reaching every child, everywhere with the vaccines they need.” William H. Gates Sr, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, praised the Indian government for making health a top priority.
GAVI and the Vaccine Fund in 2002
GAVI was a coalition that worked to reduce the gap in vaccine access between industrialized and developing countries and to increase immunization coverage worldwide. Its partners included national governments, the Children’s Vaccine Program at PATH, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA), research and public health institutions, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, the World Bank Group and the World Health Organization.
The Vaccine Fund raised money for GAVI’s mission. It paid for immunization services and for new and under-used vaccines, such as hepatitis B, yellow fever and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), in the world’s poorest countries: those with a gross national product below US$1,000 per person.
For the cumulative results GAVI later reported on its website, see GAVI progress, as reported in 2005.
Source: GAVI press release, “Prime Minister Vajpayee Launches New Initiative To Vaccinate Children Against Hepatitis B,” 10 June 2002 (archived copy).