Reaching everyone, everywhere with life-saving vaccines

More children are being immunised worldwide than ever before with the highest level of routine coverage in history (as measured by coverage of three doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP)-containing vaccine).5 The world is closer than ever to eradicating polio. Since 2010, 99 low-income and middle-income countries have introduced one or more new or underused vaccines--for example, rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines--exceeding the GVAP target for 2015.5 Indigenous measles and rubella have been eliminated from the Americas, and maternal and neonatal tetanus has been eliminated in southeast Asia.5,6 Important progress has been made in vaccine research and development: a new vaccine against dengue has been licensed in several countries,5 and the first vaccine to protect children against malaria will be piloted in three African countries in 2018.7 In the past 2 years, there has been an increase in the number of vaccines in the clinical development pipeline. [...]inadequate domestic investments and continued donor dependency in many low-income and middle-income countries are raising concerns about the long-term global sustainability of immunisation programmes, especially as funding for the polio programme slows down and countries transition away from the support they receive from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.