Posted on 5 December, 2012
Photo: An MSF staff member vaccinates a child for measles. DRC 2008 © Anna Surinyach
GAVI Needs to Offer Lower Vaccine Prices to Humanitarian Groups
The GAVI Alliance should systematically extend the discounted vaccine prices it obtains from pharmaceutical companies to humanitarian organizations that are often well placed to reach unvaccinated children, MSF said today at the GAVI Partners Forum meeting in Tanzania. Currently, humanitarian groups such as MSF are not able to obtain vaccines at GAVI prices, and are left to negotiate access to vaccines on a cumbersome case-by-case basis.
Tari – a rural, little town in Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands has become my home for the next nine months. Here MSF runs an emergency surgical program and a Family Support Center, my work place, where survivors of domestic and sexual violence receive medical and psychological care. The level of domestic and sexual violence in PNG is epidemic. Official data is hard to obtain due to lack of research, but it is estimated that around 70% of all PNG women face physical abuse during their lives. Around half of PNG women are raped in their lifetime. The numbers are horrific, and the numerous individual fates feel overwhelming.
Meet Minja, our newest blogger, who is writing about her work on mental healthcare and psycho-social support in Papua New Guinea. Warning: Minja’s blog contains descriptions of violence you may find distressing. Please leave your comments and questions for Minja in the comments box below her blog post.