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Vaccine boost for developing countries
28.09.2011 08:02 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Thirty seven developing countries are to receive funding to purchase vaccines against two major childhood diseases.
The vaccines are to protect children against severe diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Jeffrey Rowland from the GAVI Alliance, a global public-private health initiative, says severe diarrhoea and pneumonia kill over 2.8 million children a year, mostly in Africa.
«Rotavirus is the biggest cause of severe diarrhoea in children under the age of five years. It kills more than half a million children every year and nearly all rotavirus deaths occur in Africa. Pneumococcal disease causes pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis and also takes the life of more than half a million children each year and the vast majority are in Africa and in Asia. Vaccines prevent diseases and give children a healthy start of life. They represent one of the best investments in global health and we at the GAVI Alliance will continue to ensure that all children have access to the right sets of vaccines in rich and poor countries alike,» admits Rowland.
Sixteen countries will receive funding to introduce the rotavirus vaccines and 18 others will receive funding to introduce the pneumococcal vaccines.
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