Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Government of India have established a new three-year partnership that aims to reach millions of children in the country with life-saving vaccines.

Through the strategic partnership, Gavi will provide $250 million in funding to identify and vaccinate children who have not received a single routine vaccine, strengthen existing health systems and help the country introduce the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) into the national routine immunisation schedule.

To effectively reach the goal of reducing the number of “zero-dose” children in the country by 30%, 143 priority districts have been identified across 11 states: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

In the districts where immunisation coverage is low, targeted interventions and strategies will be used to ensure children receive the full course of childhood vaccines. Civil society organisations (CSOs) and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) will also be engaged to help build stronger demand for vaccines and generate better understanding of the importance of vaccination amongst target communities. Lessons learnt from these engagements will be replicated and expanded to other areas in the country and leveraged to strengthen routine immunisation across the nation.