Questions? +1 (202) 335-3939 Login
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for banking industry professionals · Thursday, March 28, 2024 · 699,433,516 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

Orange, Gavi and Côte d'Ivoire Ministry of Health Join Forces to Boost Child Immunisation

Orange (www.Orange.com) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (www.Gavi.org), will enter into a partnership with the Côte d'Ivoire Ministry of Health (www.Sante.gouv.ci) to increase immunisation rates in the regions and districts with the lowest vaccine coverage, it was announced at the World Economic Forum today.

The "M-Vaccin Côte d' Ivoire" project uses Orange mobile technology to inform parents about the importance of vaccination by sending text and voice messages in the local language. Targeted messages will also help ensure parents don’t miss immunisation sessions by reminding them of their children's schedule and dates.

"This new partnership is truly innovative and important for the children of Côte d'Ivoire," explained Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. "Parents often do not receive enough information about the importance of immunisation because they live a long way from health centres or in hard-to-reach places. These voice and text messages should therefore have a significant impact and lead to an increase in vaccine coverage."

In addition to sending voice and text messages, Orange will provide health workers with an M-Vaccin mobile app. It will enable them to accurately capture data from the communities and populations they are in contact with. With this they can create a personalised immunisation schedule for each family, which will improve monitoring and reduce the number of children who do not receive vaccines.

“The Orange Group is pleased to partner with Gavi and the Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Health to make a concrete contribution to this large-scale vaccination programme. Orange is convinced of the power of digital tools to support the most isolated populations in Africa, both in the health sector and in other areas such as education and financial services," added Bruno Mettling, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Orange Group in charge of operations in Africa and the Middle East. “Health is a priority for Orange, and the Group is playing an active part in developing the latest digital innovations and supporting healthcare players in achieving digital transformation.”

The partnership will last five years and will be implemented in the 29 districts of Côte d'Ivoire where immunisation coverage is below the national average, or where drop-out rates are above 10%. According to a study carried out in 2015 by the Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI), the "M-Vaccin" programme should reach more than 800,000 children. It could also be extended to other countries in West Africa after an impact assessment.

“Thanks to this partnership between Orange, Gavi and the Ministry of Health, we hope to make a real impact on national coverage in these districts by sending targeted voice and text messages in local languages," said Dr. Raymonde Goudou Coffie, Côte d' Ivoire Minister of Health and Public Hygiene. “The Ministry of Health is working with partners like Gavi to keep those target populations better informed about the importance of vaccination. The solution, which will be made available to community health workers, will also make it possible to closely monitor pregnant women and children and to reduce the number of people lost to follow-up.”

Orange and Gavi will jointly invest US$ 5.47 million in the “M-Vaccin” project over a period of five years. Half of this funding will come from the Gavi Matching Fund, a mechanism financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation designed to incentivize private sector investment in immunization.

Since 2001, Gavi has supported Côte d'Ivoire in the introduction of 11 vaccines and is providing funds to support health services to improve vaccination coverage.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Orange.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (www.Gavi.org) is a public-private partnership committed to saving children's lives and protecting people's health by increasing equitable use of vaccines in lower-income countries. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. Gavi uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and adequate supply of quality vaccines. Since 2000, Gavi has contributed to the immunisation of nearly 640 million children and the prevention of more than 9 million future deaths. Learn more at www.Gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook (http://APO.af/kUMGju) and Twitter (http://APO.af/vTk1G5). 

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is supported by donor governments (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, the State of Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States), the European Commission, Alwaleed Philanthropies, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as private and corporate partners (Absolute Return for Kids, Anglo American plc., The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, China Merchants Group, Comic Relief, Deutsche Post DHL, the ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation, Girl Effect, The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW), the Gulf Youth Alliance, JP Morgan, “la Caixa” Foundation, LDS Charities, Lions Clubs International Foundation, Majid Al Futtaim, Philips, Unilever, UPS and Vodafone). 

About Orange Orange (www.Orange.com) is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 40,9 billion euros in 2016 and 152,000 employees worldwide at 30 September 2017, including 93,000 employees in France. Present in 29 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 269 million customers worldwide at 30 September 2017, including 208 million mobile customers and 19 million fixed broadband customers. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan “Essentials2020” which places customer experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN). For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.Orange.com, www.Orange-Business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited

Powered by EIN Presswire


EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.

Submit your press release