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On the Delivery of the First GAVI Vaccines to Africa

Boane, Mozambique - 6 April 2001

President Chissano, Minister Songane, Excellencies, Mr. Gates, = President=20 Martin, Ms Machel, Fellow Members of the GAVI Board, Members of the = Press,=20 Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are here today to celebrate an important moment in a global = crusade to=20 protect millions of children against vaccine-preventable disease - and I = cannot=20 imagine a more inspiring setting than this clinic.

For today marks the first delivery to the African continent of = vaccines=20 procured by the year-old partnership known as GAVI (the Global Alliance = for=20 Vaccines and Immunisation), and financed by the Global Fund for = Children's=20 Vaccines, founded in 1999 with a $750 million grant from the Bill & = Melinda=20 Gates Foundation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the vaccines being handed over to Mozambique = today are=20 powerful armaments in a stepped-up drive to see to it that every child = in the=20 world receives the immunisation they need, using every effective vaccine = available.

It is a goal that will require all the commitment and resources that = we can=20 muster.

Every year, some 2 million children die because they are not = immunised=20 against common childhood diseases, the overwhelming majority of them in = the=20 world's poorest and most strife-torn regions.

These deaths - and the incalculable loss of human potential they = represent -=20 are more than needless. They are economically ruinous - and, on the most = fundamental human level, they are legally, morally and ethically=20 unacceptable.

They are unacceptable not only because they are preventable through=20 immunisation, but because the children of the world - including the = hundreds of=20 millions trapped in grinding poverty and economic crisis and armed = strife - have=20 a right to a better future, beginning with the right to survive, and to = enjoy=20 the highest attainable standard of health.

Over the last decade, 191 countries - virtually the entire community = of=20 nations have affirmed their responsibility to uphold and protect these = and other=20 rights by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child, history's = most=20 acclaimed human-rights instrument.

Indeed, the same movement that gave the world the Child Rights = Convention=20 helped bring about the greatest advances in child immunisation ever = achieved -=20 successes literally unimaginable two decades ago, when just 5 per cent = of=20 infants in developing countries were immunised against the six major=20 vaccine-preventable diseases.

Ladies and Gentlemen, UNICEF and its partners are here today because = we have=20 a historic opportunity to go further, and make the most effective = vaccines=20 available to every single child.
The vaccines being turned over to=20 Mozambique today represent the first half of a shipment of 1.3 million = doses of=20 DTP-hepB, which will protect infants not only against diphtheria, = tetanus and=20 whooping cough, but hepatitis B, complications of which annually kill = nearly a=20 million adults around the world who were never immunised as children. = Studies in=20 Mozambique show that approximately 1 of every 5 adults are chronically = infected=20 with hepatitis.

Ladies and Gentlemen, procuring and delivering vaccines are only one = aspect=20 of a complex process - a process in which close collaboration between=20 governments and other GAVI partners is essential.

Vaccine safety is as important as the vaccines themselves - and that = is why=20 auto-disable syringes are also being provided, which reduce the need for = cumbersome sterilisation equipment and make injections safer. It is also = why the=20 immunisation drive includes training health workers in safe immunisation = practices.

In Mozambique, where severe flooding and great distances have made it = difficult for many families to reach health centers, success will also = hinge on=20 investments that will bring immunisation within reach, along with other=20 basic-health measures, such as vitamin A supplements.

At the same time, education and public outreach is needed to help = community=20 leaders appreciate the benefits of immunisation. And we must work with = families=20 so they will demand immunisation services - and make an extra effort to = use=20 them.

Mr. President, the happy occasion that has brought us here today is = most of=20 all a testament to the power of partnerships like GAVI, a coalition of = business=20 leaders, philanthropic foundations, development banks, national = governments -=20 and partners in the UN System, including the World Health Organisation, = the=20 World Bank and UNICEF.

UNICEF is deeply committed to this alliance - and we are grateful to = Bill and=20 Melinda Gates for the moral vision that led them to establish the Global = Fund=20 for Children's Vaccines, which has made it possible for children in the = poorest=20 countries of the world to begin benefitting from new and improved = vaccines.

At the same time, generous financial and technical support has come = from=20 industrialised nations, including Norway, the Netherlands, the United = Kingdom=20 and the United States.

We are also encouraged that the business community, including the=20 transnational pharmaceutical industry, is becomingly increasingly = pro-active in=20 searching for ways to make vaccines and other vital medical items more = available=20 and affordable.

These efforts come as private citizens the world over, as well as = NGOs like=20 PATH (the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) continue to work = with=20 governments and communities to make immunisation services more = effective.

But by far the most important partners in this effort are the = national and=20 local governments in countries where immunisation efforts are focused, = which are=20 ultimately responsible for working with communities and families to = ensure that=20 every child is reached.

In Mozambique, UNICEF is committed to helping to develop the broadest = possible access to immunisation and other health services, with emphasis = on=20 reaching the unreached. This entails strengthening our support for safe = storage=20 and transport of vaccines as we work closely with the Government to = implement=20 strategies to control measles and neonatal tetanus - while pressing = forward on=20 polio eradication.

Mr. President, the work of GAVI and the Global Fund is proof that = every one=20 of us has the power to change the world for, and with, children.

To that end, UNICEF has begun working with all our partners to help = mobilise=20 a Global Movement for Children - a worldwide campaign to build a shared = sense of=20 responsibility for the well-being of every child on earth as we prepare = for the=20 UN General Assembly's Special Session on Children in September, when a = critical=20 plan of action for children over the next decade will be adopted.

To succeed, the Global Movement will need to enlist not only = established=20 leaders, but people of influence representing every level of civil = society, from=20 non-governmental organisations, religious groups and private enterprise = to=20 people's movements, academia and the media, community and grassroots = groups,=20 families - and children themselves.

Thanks to former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa and his = wife, Gra=E7a=20 Machel, this country's former Education Minister, the work has already = begun.=20

They have assumed a direct and personal role in organising a global=20 partnership of leaders from every sphere to act on a basic recognition - = that if=20 we want a more just, equitable and thriving world, we must invest in = children=20 now.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there are few investments that yield greater = returns=20 than immunisation.

Thank you.

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