Immunization ‘Plus’
Total procurement: $424 million
Two million children die every year from vaccine preventable
diseases, as worldwide a quarter of newborns are not vaccinated.
As part of its commitment to improving child survival, UNICEF
procures vaccines for some 40 per cent of children in developing
countries, representing an increasing number of children every
year.
The procurement of vaccines and related supplies remains
the largest segment of UNICEF procurement activities by value
– accounting for 53 per cent of activities in 2004.
The total value of procurement for UNICEF’s priority
‘Immunization ‘Plus’ was $424 million, with
$374 million spent on 2.8 billion doses of vaccines, $27 million
on 500 million auto-disable syringes for safe injection, and
$15 million on cold chain equipment. In addition, Supply Division
shipped $8.3 million worth of donated Vitamin A.
UNICEF’s vaccine procurement has increased steadily
each year since 1996. Increases since 2001 have been primarily
a result of immunization campaigns in support of polio eradication,
measles control and elimination, as well as the introduction
of Hepatitis B and Hib vaccines funded by the Global Alliance
for Vaccines and Immunization/Vaccine Fund (GAVI/VF). In 2004,
procurement was 8 per cent higher than in 2003. The procurement
of oral polio vaccines (OPV) reached an historic high in 2004,
with over 2.1 billion doses purchased by Supply Division in
support of the global polio eradication initiative.
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