The Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunisation (GAVI) will contribute $60 million worth of Rotavirus vaccines to Pakistan for the expanded Immunisation Diarrhoea Control Programme. Diarrhoea is recognised world-wide as the No 1 cause of hospitalisation and the second leading cause of infant mortality under five years of age.
Although it infects every child in the world before the age of five years, the risk of dying from Rotavirus infection is greater for children born in the developing countries including Pakistan.
Pakistan would finance only Rs 100 million for vaccines valued at over $60 million. GAVI has provided special funding to enable the inclusion of Rotavirus vaccines in EPI programmes as it is considered 'a new priority vaccine.' All GAVI eligible countries are required to send a country proposal by September 25, 2008 for Rotavirus vaccine in order to qualify for this funding.
Over 90 per cent of the 600,000 annual deaths caused by Rotavirus occur in developing countries. Mortality is highest in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa it is estimated that one in 200 child born will die of Rotavirus. In Pakistan a WHO study attributed 32 percent of all hospitalisations related to diarrhoea to Rotavirus. Since Pakistan has an annual birth rate of approximately five million children, the Rotavirus vaccine would be greatly helpful to protect its new-borns from the serious and often fatal form of diarrhoea.
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