Country Perspectives: Burkina Faso
December
IFFIm funds help finance a mass immunisation campaign to reduce the risk of a yellow fever epidemic in Burkina Faso.
With millions of people to protect against yellow fever and an army of health workers and volunteers to mobilise, the Government of Burkina Faso had reason to be grateful to IFFIm earlier this month.
GAVI’s innovative fundraising mechanism underwrote a US$11 million immunisation campaign, which not only administered the yellow fever vaccine to 7.9 million people, but also educated Burkina Faso’s population about their country’s extreme vulnerability to a severe epidemic because of its tropical climate.
The country’s preventive campaign is part of a regional Yellow Fever Initiative. Financed in part by US$ 58.6 million raised by IFFIm, the initiative has created stockpiles of yellow fever vaccines which are available free-of-charge to 12 countries, eligible for GAVI assistance.
IFFIm’s capacity to raise large sums of money upfront, through capital markets allows GAVI to buy the large quantities of vaccines needed to create stockpiles.
“Yellow fever continues to have a devastating impact on many African nations, even though a safe vaccine has existed for many years. We have to ensure that every African child is protected; it is a matter of equity,” commented Julian Lob-Levyt, Executive Secretary of the GAVI Alliance.
photo: WHO/Alejandro-Costa
