MUMPS
By: Tommy Lynch
The formation of mega-communities can be one of the most effective strategies to combat global issues. These communities are driven by the combination and cooperation of the three largest sectors of society: the private, public, and non-profit sectors. The approach of tri-sector engagement involves converting shared interests across all three sectors into a plausible and structured plan to achieve a certain goal(s) that is beneficial to all parties.
One major, large-scale initiative targeted through tri-sector engagement is the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP). The Global Vaccine Action Plan aims to create and uphold an agenda referred to as the “Decade of Vaccines” from 2011-2020 with a primary vision of providing access to immunization worldwide with the backing of 194 member states of the World Health Assembly. Partnering together to achieve this vision are the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the non-profit Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, GAVI Alliance (a public-private sector partnership founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide access to immunization in under-developed nations), US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, government officials, healthcare professionals and manufacturers, and various sources of media (2). The World Health Organization, a specialized division within the United Nations devoted to promoting international health, notes both the health and economic benefits of a successfully carried out plan, claiming
If the GVAP is translated into action and resources are mobilized, between 24.6 and 25.8 million deaths could be averted by the end of the decade, billions of dollars in productivity will be gained, and immunization will greatly contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goal 4 target to reduce by two-thirds the under-five mortality rate (2).
In its article “Vaccine Delivery Strategy Overview,” the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation outlines the opportunities, challenges, strategies, and programs implemented through the previously described GVAP to improve both health and economy through the availability of immunization of vaccine-preventable diseases. Tri-sector partnerships have allowed for implementation of programs that provide vaccinations and eradication efforts against pneumonia, rotavirus, HPV, and polio in 73 of the world’s most underdeveloped nations including India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia. In addition, the effort extends to providing better immunization systems in these countries. In India’s most populated area, Bihar, the outreach aims to provide technologies that allow for vaccine registration, tracking, mapping, storage, and education. The initiatives also include programs to create specific vaccines, such as MenAfriVac to combat Meningitis A in Africa, and to provide innovative systems that allow for needle-free delivery of vaccines and heat-stabilized vaccines that do not require refrigeration to be kept potent.
In a position paper written by the Indian Association of Pediatrics (IAP), the authors outline the importance of the country recognizing mumps as a pertinent health concern throughout the country and the need to create a system that could combat the disease and minimize its devastation to India’s population. Studies showed as high as 80% susceptibility to the disease for children 9-10 months of age. The IAP claims that there is an urgent need for government and global initiative to improve a non-existent system of tracking the disease and to implement the cost-effective MMR vaccine to include coverage of mumps in place of the MR vaccine that only protects against measles and rubella (3).
With the economic and global strength of the GVAP, I believe successful efforts could be made through its tri-sector engagement to combat the mumps epidemic across world as a whole, including India. Implementing similar techniques and strategies that are already in practice by those involved in the GVAP movement could have a drastic and positive impact on providing essential and life-saving care to those affected by mumps around the world.
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References:
1. (2017). Vaccine Delivery Strategy Overview. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved from
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Vaccine-Delivery
2. (2017). Decade of Vaccines ― Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011-2020. Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals: World Health Organization. Retrieved From
http://www.who.int/immunization/global_vaccine_action_plan/DoV_GVAP_2012_2020/en/
3. Vashishtha Vipin M., & Yadav Sangeeta., & Dabas Aashima., & Bansal CP., & Agarwal Rohit C., & Yewale Vijay N., & Thacker Naveen., & Kamath SS., & Mehta Pravin J. (2015). IAP Position Paper on Burden of Mumps in India and Vaccination Strategies. Indian Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved from http://www.indianpediatrics.net/june2015/june-505-514.htm