However, just as in the case for new therapeutic products, resources are scarce so judgements must be made in order to secure funding for those interventions that deliver the best value. One accepted method is to look at the investment cost for the public health gain anticipated upon implementation of the new vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) CHOICE (CHOosing Interventions that are Natural Product Library cell line Cost-Effective) project has the objective of providing policy makers with the evidence for deciding on the interventions and programmes which maximise health for the available resources (http://www.who.int/choice/description/en/). Vaccine programmes

can be funded by national bodies; however, supranational organisations also play a key role. For example, the introduction of the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine to national immunisation programmes has, in most developing countries in Africa, Central and Southeast Asia, only been possible with support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). GAVI is a global health partnership between the private and public sectors, committed to the mission of

saving children’s lives and protecting people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in poor countries. In Latin America, a Revolving Fund for Vaccine Procurement was developed by the Pan American Health Organization in 1979 for the purchase of vaccines, syringes/needles and cold chain equipment for countries in Latin America selleckchem and the Caribbean. A major benefit of the Fund’s role has been to ensure access to vaccines and thereby significantly improve population health. Through a system of bulk purchasing for countries in the region, the Fund has for the past 20 years secured a supply of high-quality vaccines for national immunisation

programmes at affordable prices. It has been instrumental in the introduction of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), Hib and hepatitis B vaccines in the region’s regular immunisation programmes and has also allowed for the orderly planning of immunisation activities. Ureohydrolase In recent years, the focus of these organisations has been to provide faster access to newly licensed vaccines for people in need, through advanced market commitments (AMCs). AMCs are a guarantee that committed donors will buy a certain number of vaccine doses at a pre-fixed price for an agreed number of years. This gives vaccine manufacturers a return on their development costs, followed by availability of the vaccine in the market at an affordable price. Governments of developing countries are able to budget and plan for immunisation programmes, knowing that vaccines will be available in sufficient quantity, at a price they can afford, for the long term.