Factors affecting the introduction of new vaccines to poor nations: a comparative study of the Haemophilus influenzae Type B and Hepatitis B vaccines

A major effort to introduce new vaccines into poor nations of the world was initiated in recent years with the help of the GAVI alliance. The first vaccines introduced have been the Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) and the hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccines. The introduction of these vaccines during the first phase of GAVI\'s operations demonstrated considerable variability. We set out to study the factors affecting the introduction of these vaccines. The African Region (AFRO), where new vaccines were introduced to a substantial number of countries during the first phase of GAVI\'s funding, was selected for this study.