We must stand together for immunization in Africa

The recent global pledging summit for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance reminded us of what vaccines mean for families in Sierra Leone and indeed across our continent. Fewer parents have had to mourn a child lost to measles or pneumonia. Vaccines mean fewer hospital visits and more school graduations. This is public health as a cornerstone of national development.

Africa’s progress has been hard-won. Over the past two decades, our countries have expanded immunization coverage dramatically and strengthened national systems through a partnership model that has pooled resources, built local capacity, and made delivery more predictable and efficient. It is a model that has enabled our countries to co-finance the vaccines we use and to steadily grow our contribution over time. It is working.

But today, that progress is under threat.