The lives of 29,000 children can be saved if the government includes the rotavirus vaccine in its Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).
The vaccine, which protects against a virus that causes deadly diarrhoea in children, will cost $91.72 million.
Of this amount, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) is willing to pay $80 million, while the remaining amount will have to come from Pakistan in three instalments over three years.
Official sources told The Express Tribune that in a recent meeting, GAVI assured the inter-provincial coordination (IPC) ministry officials its full commitment to providing funds for the vaccine. GAVI asked the ministry to submit an application to them after getting it signed by the Finance Division.
However, the issue at hand remains — which arm of the government will pay the co-financing share?
EPI National Manager Dr Zahid Larik said that considering the annual death rate in Pakistan for children under five, there is a need to introduce this vaccine in the EPI programme.
He said 558,652 children under the age of five died in Pakistan last year, 16% of them from diarrhoea. Half of these deaths were caused by the rotavirus. The vaccine costs between Rs4,100 to Rs5,300 in the open market, precluding many parents from getting their children vaccinated.
Larik said, “The lives of around 29,000 children will be saved by including the vaccine in the EPI programme.”
If Pakistan goes ahead with including the vaccine in the EPI, it will have to pay $5.42 million in the first year, $3.2 million in the second year, and $3.1 million in the third.
He wasn’t sure on where the funds would come from, however. “The Federal EPI cell is not getting any financing from the Planning Commission after the devolution of the Ministry of Health.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2012.
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Rota virus vaccine is hardly 35 % effective in preventing diarrhoea in children in developing countries. Most studies conducted on this vaccine are from North America and Western Europe where the vaccine has shown to be effective but the limited research evidence from developing countries such as sub-saharan Africa have shown bad results. With this in mind, I find it no less than a scam by our EPI officials and global vaccine lobby to invest 91.7 million USD on this vaccine. Instead this money should be directed into improving access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in rural areas of the country to reduce Dirahhoea.