United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-10-15 monographic deposited born digital 36 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-00-4 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4 P0b002ee18039681e f:ns00004 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4 NSIAD-00-4 International organizations Children Immunization services Immunization programs Infectious diseases Developing countries UN Expanded Program on Immunization AID Children's Vaccine Initiative Letter Report NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined some of the key issues involving vaccine availability for children in developing countries, focusing on the: (1) locations where shortfalls in immunization coverage are most prevalent; and (2) factors that impede vaccine availability in these locations.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) while global immunization coverage for six diseases originally targeted by the World Health Organization (WHO) has improved significantly since the mid-1970s, coverage rates are low for children living in the poorest countries, particularly in urban slums and remote rural areas; (2) WHO data indicate that the poorest countries of the world have vaccination rates that are about 26 percent below the global average of 82 percent; (3) in fact, immunization coverage in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa has declined over the last decade; (4) some countries in this region reported in 1997 that they immunized less than a third of their children against the six diseases targeted by WHO; (5) many of the children who are not immunized live in countries that have experienced internal conflict in recent years; (6) although the level of coverage varies, few children in developing countries have access to the newer vaccines that have been added more recently to WHO's list of recommended vaccines; (7) several interrelated factors that poor countries have difficulty overcoming have limited the availability of vaccines for children in the developing world, including: (a) inadequate health infrastructure; (b) the relatively higher cost of vaccines recently recommended by WHO; (c) insufficient information on disease burden and vaccine efficacy; and (d) changing priorities of international donors; and (8) in the 1990s, the United Nations Children's Fund and the U.S. Agency for International Development have begun to reduce their level of support for immunization. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4.pdf GAO/NSIAD-00-4 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-4 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-00-4; Global Health: Factors Contributing to Low Vaccination; International organizations Children Immunization services Immunization programs Infectious diseases Developing countries UN Expanded Program on Immunization AID Children's Vaccine Initiative