Global Pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer has announced that it has supplied its 1 billionth pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) through its collaboration with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The billionth dose was delivered to Ethiopia for use in its national immunization program to help protect children from pneumococcal disease.
Globally, pneumonia is the single largest infectious cause of mortality in children under five.
In 2009, Gavi established the Pneumococcal Advance Market Commitment (AMC), a public-private health financing mechanism designed to create a sustainable marketplace, enabling investment in development and manufacturing and providing an affordable and stable supply of vaccines at a highly subsidized price for supply to children in low- and lower-middle income Gavi-eligible countries.
In Ethiopia, more than 40,000 children under five die from pneumonia annually. It is a leading cause of death during the postnatal period, accounting for 20% of deaths in this age group every year .
Since 2020, Pfizer has supplied more than 40 million pneumococcal vaccines to support the country’s vaccination efforts.
Since the Pneumococcal AMC was first established, significant progress in the fight to protect children against pneumococcal disease has been made.
Global PCV coverage has increased six-fold from 10 percent in 2010 to 65 percent in 2023. However, this falls short of the Immunization Agenda 2030 target of 90 percent, signaling that there is more work to be done.
Ensuring more children are vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases, like pneumococcal disease, goes beyond providing individuals with protection against severe disease and death. It can help uplift communities and countries by promoting health equity , increasing economic productivity and reducing the cost burden on healthcare systems .