Sierra Leone Telegraph: 18 February 2025:
The Reaching Every Child in Humanitarian Settings (REACH) consortium has officially administered 9 million vaccine doses to children in humanitarian and conflict-affected regions across the Horn of Africa.
REACH is funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in collaboration with ThinkPlace, Flowminder, CORE Group and a broad array of local civil society organizations.
21 million children around the world, particularly in fragile settings, remain under-immunized, with 14.5 million having never received a single dose of any vaccine. Reaching these under-served communities with immunization is critical to preventing outbreaks that threaten both regional and global health security.
To serve communities in crisis – some of which haven’t seen a vaccine in over a decade – Gavi launched the Zero-Dose Immunization Programme (ZIP) in 2022, partnering directly with humanitarian organizations. As part of this programme, REACH relies on a specialized humanitarian model addressing complex barriers, leveraging the IRC’s humanitarian expertise, which has proven essential in ensuring that even the hardest-to-reach children receive the full national schedule of vaccines.
When REACH launched in 2022, only 16% of the 156 target communities were accessible to humanitarian actors. Centring humanitarian principles, the consortium has now negotiated access to 96%.
Through flexible and adaptable delivery models, such as mobile clinics and community outreach units, hyperlocal partners and geospatial mapping, REACH is enabling immunization in regions where existing government health systems cannot function due to insecurity, conflict or crises, including those driven by climate change.
By closely coordinating with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Immunization Programme (NIP), REACH transitions services back to government ownership when conditions allow.
Moreover, in low- and middle-income countries, the costs for vaccine delivery range from less than US$ 1 to US$ 11 per dose; Gavi and IRC estimates that to date REACH has delivered at an average cost of US$ 4 per dose in the Horn of Africa, at a lower and cost-effective end of the range.
“For 25 years, Gavi has leveraged the power of vaccines to transform children’s lives, support communities and keep our entire world safe. Reaching the most remote and fragile areas, particularly in humanitarian settings, is our final frontier and demands both innovation and collaboration, and partnerships such as REACH showcase the extraordinary impact we can have when we work together,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
“As Gavi looks to its next five-year strategic period, it is essential that we build on this progress, protecting people and communities and also our world by helping keep outbreak-prone diseases at bay.”
David Miliband, President and CEO of the IRC, said: “The success of the REACH consortium is measured not only in lives saved and communities reached, but also in the critical boost to global health security interventions like these provide. It is inspiring to meet the children whose life chances improve each time they receive a vaccine from the consortium.
“It is astonishing to think REACH and its partners have done these 9 million times over. This is a prime example of what is possible when the best of immunization, the best of innovation and the best of humanitarian expertise come together. This breakthrough model cannot be allowed to wither on the vine.”
Dr Mekdes Daba, Minister of Health for Ethiopia, said: “The Ministry of Health of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is dedicated to ensuring that essential vaccines reach all communities, particularly those in conflict-affected areas. In pursuit of this goal, we collaborate with key partners like Gavi and IRC, whose efforts in reaching zero-dose children have been exemplary.
“This partnership underscores the power of collective action in advancing public health and reinforces our commitment to a future where no child is left behind.”
Beyond the scale of vaccine doses delivered in the region, REACH is ensuring that more children achieve full immunization across the Horn of Africa, including older children who have missed their routine immunization schedules.
To date, over 985,000 children aged 0–5 years have received the first dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP1), setting them on a pathway to complete their immunization schedule. Of those, 376,000 children received DTP1 past their first birthday, which demonstrates that progress is being made in reaching those who missed out on routine vaccination programmes earlier in their childhood.
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