20 Mar CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO IMMUNIZATION IN AFRICA
This content was originally published on the Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa website and is cross-posted here with permission.
Progress to meet the key targets of the Global Vaccine Action Plan is off-track, with over a million children still dying every year from vaccine-preventable causes. Collectively, we need to do more to ensure that every child can equitably access immunization services, and we call on governments for the leadership and commitment needed to achieve the important goals expressed in the Global Vaccines Action Plan.
The Civil Society Declaration expresses the commitment Civil Society Organizations make to bridge the gap on immunization while calling on Ministers and stakeholders in the African region to ensure that all residents of their countries, especially the poorest and most marginalized, have access to immunization and other essential health services, towards universal coverage, delivered by qualified health service providers. It calls for government accountability to strengthen health systems that deliver immunization services, especially through ensuring a strong health workforce in reach of all communities, sufficient and sustainable financing, and a strong supply chain for uninterrupted purchase and delivery of vaccines in sufficient quantity to meet the population’s needs through increasing the national budget dedicated to health by 2020. Civil society organizations and platforms, and all concerned individuals involved in immunization efforts, are invited to read and sign the declaration to show their commitment to these goals.
Click here to read the declaration.