Six New Districts in Andhra Pradesh Provide Immunization Against Hepatitis B

HYDERABAD, India -- On Children’s Day today, the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GOAP) in partnership with the Children’s Vaccine Program at PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) launched Phase Two of the Partnership Project to Strengthen Immunization Services and Introduce Hepatitis B Vaccine.

Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, personally congratulated the leadership of the six districts launching the project. He facilitated a roundtable discussion that included representatives of Pharmaceutical companies, members of PATH, media executives and government officials, about the future of immunization in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and the impact this work is having throughout the country.

“Every child, in every corner of the world deserves the benefit of lifesaving vaccines,” said Gates. “I commend the State of Andhra Pradesh for its strong commitment to immunization. This project is saving lives and demonstrates an innovative approach that I hope will become a model for the rest of the country.”

The Partnership Project in AP is funded through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Children’s Vaccine Program (CVP) at PATH (a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization) and the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Andhra Pradesh. The project goal is to improve immunization services in the state so that the 1.6 million children born in AP each year are safely and effectively immunized against seven major vaccine-preventable diseases: tuberculosis, tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, polio, measles, and now hepatitis B.

The project also seeks to provide model immunization services to all pregnant women in the state to eliminate the risk of tetanus for all mothers and their newborn children. GOAP is committed to the project’s sustainability by sharing its costs. The government's contribution will increase by 20 percent each year. After five years, the government will fully finance and manage the project. The project is using auto-disable syringes, which are self-locking and impossible to use more than once, thus eliminating the threat of cross-infection.

AP is one of the first states in India to begin looking critically at its Universal Immunization Program (UIP) and taking concrete steps to improve it. The Partnership Project has trained health workers, introduced new management methods and technologies, and for the first time, offered vaccines against hepatitis B and Japanese encephalitis, in selected areas. The Partnership Project was launched in six districts in southern AP last year, and today expands to six additional districts. Phase One districts included: Ananthapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Guntur, Kurnool, and Mahbubnagar. Phase Two districts are: Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Krishna, Warangal, and Adilabad. The districts have a combined total population of 42 million people.

“Immunization is the most cost-effective, safe, and effective health intervention available today. All women and children have the right to health—and this starts with immunization,” said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. “The Partnership Project in Andhra Pradesh aims to create a model immunization program that other states and countries can learn from and follow.”

Hepatitis B is a highly infectious virus that is transmitted 40 to 100 times more effectively than HIV through exposure to bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal secretions and saliva. It is a major cause of liver cancer and kills more than 500,000 people a year globally (World Health Organization, 2000). It has been estimated that the program in Andhra Pradesh will prevent some 38,000 hepatitis B infections and 6,000 deaths each year (U.S. Centers for Disease Control model, 2002). Hepatitis B vaccine is a safe and highly effective vaccine that has been available since 1982. To date, over 1 billion doses have been given in more than 150 countries worldwide.

PATH's Children’s Vaccine Program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, works to ensure that all children receive the full benefits of immunization without undue delay.  It also supports the development and introduction of new and underused vaccines in developing countries.  For more information visit www.ChildrensVaccine.org

PATH, The Program for Appropriate Technologies in Health is an international organization dedicated to developing, improving, and evaluating innovative solutions to public health problems. Its mission is to improve health, especially the health of women and children. It shares knowledge, skills, and technologies with governments and nongovernmental partners in low-resource settings around the world. Since 1977, PATH has managed more than 1000 projects in 120 countries, directly benefiting people, communities, and countries with limited health resources. It focuses on improving reproductive and sexual health, increasing the availability of vaccines and immunizations, preventing HIV and AIDS, improving adolescent and maternal health, and preventing gender-based violence through the advancement of human rights. For more information visit www.path.org.