The Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) ― endorsed by the 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly in May 2012 ― is a framework to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities.
GVAP was the product of the DoV Collaboration, an unprecedented effort that brought together development, health and immunization experts and stakeholders. The leadership of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI Alliance, UNICEF, United States National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases and WHO, along with all partners – governments and elected officials, health professionals, academia, manufacturers, global agencies, development partners, civil society, media and the private sector – are committed to achieving the ambitious goals of the GVAP. Many more are expected to add their support in the future as the plan is translated and implemented at the country and regional levels.
The GVAP review report highlights the tremendous advances in immunization that were made during the decade and the Plan’s contributions to a coherent, comprehensive framework for aligning global immunization activities, including research and development; ensuring comprehensive immunization strategies in all regions; improving data quality; and significantly increasing the number of functioning NITAGs globally. The report notes that, while most objectives were not met, tangible progress was made in many areas.
Best practices identified and key lessons learned
The scope for driving change was considered to have been limited by incomplete implementation of the Plan globally, regionally, nationally and sub-nationally. Its novel monitoring and evaluation framework allowed measurement of progress with common metrics, providing benchmarks against which countries could measure their achievements. Accountability and influence on countries to take corrective actions were, however, recognized as insufficient. SAGE agreed that GVAP’s scope and its underlying principles remain relevant, even in changing contexts. Nevertheless, more emphasis should be placed in the next decade on emerging issues such as migration, accelerating urbanization, outbreaks and other destabilizing factors, increasingly large underserved populations and ensuring the availability and affordability of vaccines.
The recommendations endorsed by SAGE for the post-2020 global immunization strategy thus focus on a country-centred, bottom–up approach; ensuring flexibility; a more appropriate governance model, with greater emphasis on advocacy and communication; effective use of data in planning and assessing actions and their impact; long-term planning, in particular in research, development and delivery of vaccines and innovations; and the importance of monitoring, evaluation and accountability at country and subnational levels.
