How Similar Are ITNs and Childhood Vaccines?
Although there is some debate over the best methods of providing ITNs to children and pregnant women, there is no such ambiguity over how to vaccinate these same populations. In the early 1980s, vaccinations in Africa were mainly available through the private sector and some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). There was low coverage, poor quality of services, high cost, and inequity. In 1982, WHO’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI)—with leadership from UNICEF and the consensus of donors—made a strategic decision that developing countries’ vaccines would be both publicly financed and provided free to all women and children in the poorest countries. The rationale was that the benefits of high vaccination coverage were a public good and could only be achieved if all barriers—including cost—were systematically removed. Public financing provided a mechanism for creating and supporting standardized vaccines, vaccination schedules, vaccine quality, and procurement systems. This led to
