With July’s launch of pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against the main cause of deadly pneumonia, Myanmar has introduced 9 vaccines against 10 diseases into its national immunisation programme.

  • At a high-level celebration on 1 July, the Minister of Health and Sports in the newly elected Myanmar government, Dr Myint Htwe, formally launched the pneumococcal vaccine into the national immunisation programme with support from Gavi, UNICEF and WHO.
  • An estimated 16% of under-five deaths in Myanmar are caused by pneumonia. The pneumococcal vaccine, which will benefit close to 1 million Myanmar children every year, will significantly contribute to reducing child mortality in the country.
  • The Minister called the routine immunisation programme a fundamental pillar of health services which has a dramatic impact on the well-being of children. His government is committed to financing traditional vaccines and progressively increasing its co-financing of Gavi-supported vaccines.
  • The Minister thanked WHO, UNICEF and Gavi for their contributions in the past years and commended the dedication of health workers. Without their commitment it would be impossible to deliver such powerful tools to protect Myanmar children.
  • Myanmar’s immunisation programme now includes 9 vaccines against 10 diseases. And there is more to come: Myanmar has successfully applied to introduce Japanese encephalitis vaccine in 2017, while rotavirus vaccine (against diarrhoea) and HPV vaccine (which prevents cervical cancer) are under consideration.
  • Myanmar is the 57th country to introduce the pneumococcal vaccine through Gavi’s Advance Market Commitment. With funding from Italy, UK, Canada, the Russian Federation, Norway and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it is expected to prevent more than 1 million child deaths by 2020.
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Last updated: 5 Feb 2021

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