2nd edition, by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), January 2015

Immunisation is one of the most efficient ways to reduce child mortality. Yet, every year 1 out of every 5 children (under the age of 1 year) is not fully vaccinated, puttingthem at risk of dying of preventable diseases such as measles, pneumonia or diarrhoea. MSF gathered more than 1,500 data points from organisations including UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), governments, vaccine manufacturers and MSF’s tion: high vaccine prices. The resulting report is one of the most comprehensive public own supply centres to better understand one of the main barriers to immunisations on comparative vaccines prices to date, bringing together in one place information on 16 key vaccines across 13 countries.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural or man-made disasters. Each year, MSF teams vaccinate millions of people, largely as outbreak response to diseases such as measles, meningitis, yellow fever and cholera. MSF also supports routine immunisation activities in projects where we provide healthcare to mothers and children. MSF is scaling up its vaccination activities with a particular focus on improving its work in routine immunisation, as well as extending the package of vaccines used in humanitarian emergencies. In the year 2012–2013, MSF had a 60% increase in the number of doses administered in its projects. In 1999, on the heels of MSF being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – and largely in response to the inequalities surrounding access to HIV treatment between rich and poor countries – MSF launched the Access Campaign. Its purpose has been to push for access to, and development of, life-saving and life-prolonging medicines, diagnostics and vaccines for patients in MSF programmes and beyond.

Here you can read the full report about bringing down barriers to affordable and adapted vaccines.
Find more information about this topic here.

In July 2014, MSF held the first of three rounds of a mass vaccination campaign in Adjumani district of northern Uganda to protect children from deadly respiratory infections. © Sydelle WIllow Smith

Tip: More up to date educational events dealing with healthcare can be found online on the Education Database »medicine & health«.