The economic and social benefits of childhood vaccinations in BRICS.

Perspectives The international community has successfully promoted childhood vaccination as an essential public health intervention. This has been accomplished through efforts such as the World Health Organization's (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization and more recently, the establishment of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI Alliance), a global health partnership committed to ensuring access to low-cost immunization in developing countries. While such global efforts have resulted in large increases in vaccine coverage worldwide, there is still a large population that remains uncovered. Inadequate immunization coverage is apparent among middle-income countries. As middle-income countries do not receive support from the GAVI Alliance , lack of funds may account for low coverage, and vaccine delivery in these settings may suffer from inefficiencies that have been resolved in high-income countries. 1 The potential benefits of expanded vaccine coverage are evident among the following five emerging economies: Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa – often referred to as BRICS. These countries have seen high economic growth in recent years – expanding their capacity to produce, procure and provide health care. The countries represent a range of lower-middle-income (India), upper-middle-income (Brazil, China and South Africa) and high-income (Russian Federation) countries. They include the two most populous countries in the world – China and India. Collectively, BRICS have a population of nearly 239 million children under the age of five years.. BRICS vary in their financial capacity to support the introduction of new vaccines and to scale-up childhood immunization coverage in their own countries and beyond. BRICS have received resources from – and donated to – international organizations working to improve vaccination coverage. India received 130 million United States dollars (US$) from the GAVI Alliance since 2002 to improve immunization coverage. Until 2006, China received US$ 40 million from the GAVI Alliance for its immunization programme. The Governments of Brazil, the Russian Federation and South Africa have each pledged funding to the GAVI Alliance, donating between US$ 20 and US$ 80 million over one or two decades to improve vaccination coverage in other low-and middle-income countries. The extent of childhood vaccination among BRICS has varied widely, particularly with the introduction of three of the latest vaccines, which have been shown to be safe and effective in reducing childhood mortality and long-term disability: Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and rotavirus vaccine. 2 Brazil and South Africa stand out as success …