NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Health ministers from 20 African countries last week signed a declaration to increase the use of vaccines in preventing of infectious diseases in a bid to close immunisation gap by 2020.

The declaration signed during the closure of the Ministerial Conference on Immunisation in Africa held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week, brought together ministers of health and finance.

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn is expected to present the Addis Ababa Declaration on Immunisation to African Heads of States at this year’s 26th Summit of the African Union in June.

The conference, which was hosted by the World Health Organisation Regional Offices for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean in conjunction with the African Union Commission, was the first ministerial-level gathering which focused on ensuring that children across the continent have access to vaccines.