New Vaccine Introduction for Gavi (Gavi-NVI)

Introducing new vaccines requires careful planning, and also provides an opportunity to strengthen existing immunization systems. JSI has long been a leader in helping countries introduce new vaccines and other medicines, maintaining a strong emphasis on ensuring quality routine immunization services as a new vaccine is integrated within the system.

In September 2013, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), awarded a contract to JSI to provide technical and management support to new vaccine introductions in three countries—Madagascar, Niger, and South Sudan. JSI is helping to ensure that vaccine introduction activities are well-coordinated—from preparatory phase through the national roll-out of the vaccine to the post-introduction phase—with the new vaccine poised for successful integration within the routine immunization system.

New vaccines currently being introduced include HPV vaccine, pentavalent vaccine, Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), and Rotavirus vaccine.

• HPV vaccine: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and nearly all cases of cervical cancer can be attributable to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Every year, more than 270,000 women die from cervical cancer; more than 85% of these deaths are in low- and middle-income countries. The HPV vaccine helps prevent the infection of types of HPVs that can lead to cervical cancer.
• Pentavalent vaccine: The pentavalent vaccine protects children against five diseases, thus reducing child morbidity and mortality rates.
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) protects infants and young children against some strains of pneumonia, a significant cause of mortality among this target population.
• Rotavirus vaccine: The rotavirus vaccine protects children from rotaviruses, which are the leading cause of severe diarrhea among infants and young children.

Read the related blog post by Allison Hackbarth and Vanessa Richart JSI Expands Access to HPV Vaccine Internationally – and Improves Immunization Rates in our own Backyard.