Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 6, 2005
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, or GAVI, said it succeeded in protecting millions of children from diseases such as hepatitis or HIV, which can be transmitted through infected needles. The alliance distributes single-use syringes that are automatically disabled after use.
The three-day meeting of public health experts and non-governmental organizations was to be kicked off at an inaugural session later Wednesday attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Chairman Bill Gates, and his wife Melinda - who are among the chief funders of the GAVI initiative.
GAVI and its partners have distributed 1.214 billion single-use syringes in poor countries where there is a tendency to reuse syringes, thus contributing to the spread of diseases.
The World Health organization estimates more than 17% of all injections are administered with reused, unsterilized syringes - a practice the WHO blames for a "silent epidemic" of 22 million hepatitis infections and 250,000 HIV infections annually.
India, with one of the world's biggest immunizations programs, has perhaps the poorest record for injection safety. The World Bank reported about 70% of India's 4 billion annual injections are either incorrectly administered or given with improperly sterilized needles, a GAVI press release said.
GAVI was launched in 2000 by the United Nations, governments, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the vaccine industry to tackle acute health problems in developing nations.
About 2 million people die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases including diphtheria, measles, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and yellow fever, with most of the victims in poor countries.
GAVI said since it was established, its programs have helped prevent more than 670,000 premature deaths by improving access to basic children's vaccines, accelerating the development and introduction of new vaccines, and building the capacity of low-income countries to radically improve immunization coverage. ___
Edited by David Bottomley
051206
AP051215
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