Access to Vaccines Index 2017

Vaccines are a cornerstone of modern health systems. A few shots can protect a child for life against diseases such as diphtheria and cholera. While many of us take vaccines for granted, every year, 1.5 million children under five die from vaccine-preventable diseases. Most unvaccinated children live in low- and middle-income countries, where health systems are often under pressure. Many parties share responsibility for ensuring everyone can benefit from vaccines. Governments and many others are dedicated to boosting immunisation coverage or reshaping vaccine markets, to ensure safe and effective vaccines can be made available and affordable everywhere. The role for companies, vaccine manufacturers, the innovators and producers of vaccines, stand early in the vaccine value chain. The decisions they make to improve access to vaccines can help safeguard the health, well-being and economic potential of many millions of people. Take the decisions to develop pneumococcal, malaria, dengue and HIV vaccines. In all three cases, the technical hurdles have been immense. The benefits, when such projects prove successful, are profound. The Access to Vaccines Index has now mapped, for the first time, what vaccine companies are doing to improve access to vaccines, and what prompts them to take action.