{"id":63072,"date":"2024-09-24T11:47:51","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T15:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/?p=63072"},"modified":"2024-09-24T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T15:49:13","slug":"community-pharmacies-to-power-vaccine-access-in-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/fr\/2024\/09\/community-pharmacies-to-power-vaccine-access-in-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Pharmacies to Power Vaccine Access in Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Par Betty Abera<\/a>, Project Director, Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery, PSI<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vaccines are a low-cost, high-impact intervention to save lives, but only if people can access them. In Africa, governments have successfully improved immunization rates in recent years, but the COVID-19 pandemic overburdened public health systems and stalled this progress. Over half a million children under 5 continue to die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prevent millions of cases of life-threatening, vaccine-preventable diseases, we face the challenge of building robust vaccine education and delivery systems while reducing stressors on the public health sector \u2013 and pharmacies are a solution.  Community pharmacies are well-established actors in the private sector and Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery (PBID) is a proven method to effectively and sustainably drive vaccinations in many countries. The model, however, is still relatively new in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PSI is piloting PBID starting in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenya. By integrating pharmacies into mixed health systems and building community-based, accessible immunization services, we are making health systems more resilient to the effects of future pandemics and climate shocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmidst global decreases in routine immunizations, we see the potential to mobilize pharmacies to provide vaccines \u2013 all at scale,” says Karl Hofmann, CEO and President, PSI. “Building from PSI’s 54+ years working with the public and private sectors, this partnership will engage the private sector for vaccine delivery, supporting health systems to increase vaccination rates; equipping people to take charge of their health; and accelerating our collective progress toward Universal Health Coverage.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PSI\u2019s work is being funded by a JPY 1,007 million (Approx. USD 7.0 million*) donation from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda), through their Global CSR program. Takeda Global CSR Program makes robust, long-term funding commitments to support activities in developing and emerging countries that prevent disease, train health workers, strengthen supply chains, and improve access to quality diagnosis and treatment. Working in partnership with government and pharmaceutical associations and regulatory bodies in each country, PSI will engage over 120 urban and rural pharmacies to vaccinate 1 million people over a period of four years. Initial PBID will focus on distributing vaccines to high-risk populations for two endemic diseases in each country, Typhoid and HPV vaccines in Nigeria and Kenya and Tetanus-Diphtheria and HPV vaccines in Ethiopia. The HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer, is a priority in all three countries because cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Kenya and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Ethiopia and Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProposals we receive are put to an employee vote to select for funding, and PSI is one of the awardees. I believe the idea that pharmacies can safely administer life-saving vaccines really captured the interest of our employees. An innovative, low-cost way to build capacity for private sector outlets, as part of the national vaccine response. The potential to ensure all communities have access to life-saving immunizations is exciting\u201d says Toshie Ando, Head of Global CSR & Partnership Strategy, Global Corporate Affairs, Takeda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To drive private sector vaccine delivery, we will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n