Increasing equity in immunisation delivery will be the priority of Gavi’s Health System Strengthening (HSS) support in the next strategic period with a high ambition to reduce the number of under-immunised children and an intensified focus on reaching the unreached, especially ‘zero-dose’ children (children that have not received any routine vaccine). These tend to be clustered in communities without any basic health services.  

Objectives:

To achieve this, Gavi will focus on three main objectives for strengthening health systems

• Help countries extend immunisation services to regularly reach under-immunised and zero-dose children to build a stronger primary health care platform

This will require continued efforts to strengthen delivery systems for immunisation (for example by extending provision of immunisation services, strengthening supply chains and data systems, building leadership and management capacity).

• Support countries to ensure immunisation services are well-managed, sustainable, harness innovation and meet the needs of caregivers

The Alliance will bring new thinking and innovative approaches by supporting countries in designing services which respond to the specific needs of caregivers in underserved communities. The Alliance will also take a more deliberate approach to programmatic sustainability as countries move along the development continuum.

• Work with countries and communities to build resilient demand, and to identify and address gender related barriers to immunisation

This will, for example, include building and maintaining trust and confidence in immunisation, helping to ensure communities actively demand immunisation. While immunisation is one of the most gender-equal interventions in terms of coverage, gender related barriers lead to immunisation inequities.  The Alliance will prioritise and mainstream gender into all its funding and approaches to ensure that gender dynamics contribute to, rather than inhibit, positive immunisation outcomes.