BUDGET cuts and changes to Australia's official aid program to Asia threatens to undermine child vaccination programs in the region, a senior children's health advocate warns.
Helen Evans, deputy chief executive of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), says the recent federal government decisions to restructure the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) raises fears over future support for programs in the region.
"Australia has had for a long time a very strong investment in the region and AusAID has been a very strong supporter of the development of health services," Ms Evans said.
"It's been a very strong supporter of the GAVI Alliance that I work for because it sees the obvious value in immunisation," she told AAP.
"I'm certainly aware of the fact that the new Prime Minister (Tony Abbott) has made an announcement in terms of reducing AusAID's budget and we're waiting to see the impact of that," she said.
AusAID has played a key role in the GAVI Alliance initiatives in Indonesia under a pentavalent vaccination program to protect children against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis, and influenza.
The GAVI Alliance partners developing countries, donor governments such as Australia, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank, the vaccine industry, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In Myanmar, AusAID had earlier this year committed more than $82 million in 2013-14 and had been set to grow the assistance to more than $100 million a year by 2015-16, prior to Australia's federal election in September that swept Mr Abbott and the coalition to power.
But Ms Evans, an Australian, says she remains hopeful the federal government would continue "to see the value (in) making an investment in these sorts of health initiatives".
But she acknowledges the challenges in delivering programs if the budget cuts to Australia's aid program are carried through.
"It would certainly make it harder if there is a reduction; yes, there's no doubt about that," she said.
The GAVI Alliance programs have supported the immunisation of about 370 million children in developing countries since its inception in 2000 amid signs of flagging support for vaccination programs and has helped prevent more than 5.5 million deaths from diseases ranging from hepatitis B to polio.
"Vaccination is perhaps the best investment a country can make in their children's health," and seen as supporting healthy development towards adulthood, Ms Evans said.
"So it's (about) poverty reduction, it's social, economic development investment."
In Laos this week, Ms Evans oversaw the launch of a new GAVI Alliance program to vaccinate girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV) to curb rising rates of cervical cancer in the country. Each year in Laos about 500 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer triggered by HPV. As many as half are expected to die from the cancer.
"This is a vaccine that's incredibly effective and can prevent about 70 per cent of the cancers," she said. Cervical cancer is now the leading killer of women globally as maternal mortality rates decline.
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