Pneumonia kills 2,000 children every day worldwide, making it the leading infectious cause of death among children. The introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has significantly reduced the number of deaths and disease burden associated with pneumonia (while also protecting against a cause of meningitis). However, millions of children remain unvaccinated.
Vaccines against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and measles also prevent pneumonia, and although the pertussis vaccine (included in DTP for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) does not directly prevent pneumonia, it reduces the risk of complications secondary.
Thanks to the deployment of VPCs supported by Gavi since 2009, 1.2 million children have been saved until the end of 2023. However, many children still need access to this vaccine.
1. Progress in reducing deaths from pneumonia in children under five is slower than for other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Compared to measles, whose deaths have fallen sixfold in 20 years, deaths from pneumonia have declined much more slowly. These deaths are closely linked to undernutrition, lack of drinking water and sanitation, indoor and outdoor air pollution, as well as insufficient access to health care.
2. However, deaths from pneumonia among under-fives have almost halved since 2009.
Much of this progress is due to an innovative mechanism called Advance Market Commitment (market guarantee), launched by Gavi in 2009. This mechanism created a $1.5 billion fund to guarantee the purchase of vaccines by manufacturers, thereby revolutionizing access to pneumococcal vaccines for children in developing countries. low and middle income.
3. Vaccination has been essential in saving lives.
Since Gavi supported the first rollout of PCV in 2009, 438 million children of all ages have been vaccinated in 64 countries, preventing an estimated 1.2 million deaths by the end of 2023. This has also saved money approximately $33.4 billion in disease-related costs.
Many of these children live in the poorest parts of the world, where access to necessary antibiotics and hospital care is limited. For these children, the PCV vaccine can mean the difference between life and death.
In countries where PCV deployment is increasing, health workers are seeing dramatic reductions in child deaths from pneumonia. Kenya introduced PCV into its routine immunization program in 2011 with support from Gavi. In 2019, according to The Lanceta 92% reduction in invasive PCV-10 pneumococcal disease was observed in children under five years of age.
Nigeria followed in 2014. That year, nearly 480 children out of 100,000 died there from pneumonia or other lower respiratory infections. By 2019, this figure had decreased to 386 per 100,000.
Today, fragile countries are also introducing PCV into their routine vaccination programs. Chad has just introduced PCV with vaccines against rotavirus and malaria. Next year, Somalia and South Sudan will do the same with support from Gavi.
4. Gavi-supported countries continue to have higher vaccination coverage against pneumococcus, rotavirus and Hib than the rest of the world.
Both the pneumococcal and Hib vaccines protect against pneumonia. It is increasingly urgent that these vaccines reach young children, given the rise in resistance to disease-causing bacterial strains.
5. Vaccination coverage against pneumococcus is improving but still needs to improve.
Since 2009, significant progress has been made. However, more countries need to be able to deploy PCV, and those already doing so need more support to reach all the children who need it.
Gavi spent $1.47 billion between 2021 and 2025 on its pneumococcal vaccine program, saving $33.4 billion in costs of averted illness and deaths.
Between 2026 and 2030, Gavi plans to spend $1 billion on its VPC program, saving millions more lives. However, this will depend on the Vaccine Alliance’s $9 billion replenishment target to fund all of its programs over those five years.
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