Seeking effective vaccine distribution

Interesting article on looking at market-driven solutions for healthcare prevention. One of the main reasons cited for chronic poverty is huge expenditure on healthcare, in part because treatment is so much more expensive than prevention. This is what makes vaccines so important. In many cases, the world has vaccines but not the distribution systems. In Pakistan, for example, the cost of a Hepatitis-C vaccine is approximately $25; treatment for the chronic disease that attacks the liver and can result in death at least $600. In Lahore, Pakistan, it is estimated that 12-15% of the population is infected with the disease. Our partner, Kashf, is launching a micro-lending program to provide financial options to poor people infected with the disease to help them cope – for without treatment, they are often unable to earn any income at all to survive.

There has to be a better way. Acumen Fund is searching for reliable information on effective vaccine distribution. Let us know if you know of successful, sustainable examples of vaccine distribution to large numbers of people for diseases beyond polio, measles and TB.