Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 6 February 2016]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/ressreleases

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February 3, 2016
Nepal Enacts Bill to Strengthen National Immunization Program, Reduce Dependency on External Funding
KATHMANDU, NEPAL – The Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) joins global health partners around the world in congratulating Nepal on new legislation that will bolster and help sustain its national immunization program. On Jan. 26, President Bidya Devi Bhandari of Nepal signed into law, “Immunization Bill 2072,” a landmark piece of legislation that will make the country’s national immunization program more financially-sustainable as new, costlier vaccines are introduced.

Among its provisions, the law provides for a dedicated national immunization fund to allocate money for the immunization program. This innovative fund will include both government and private contributions. The Nepali government has already allocated 60 million Nepalese rupees, or approximately US$550,000, to the fund, which will be managed by the private sector.

Proceeds will be used to purchase vaccines and support immunization delivery. The new national immunization fund will be supplemented by another fund created by Rotary District 3292. Both funds were established to push Nepal toward full domestic financing of its immunization program and reduce dependency on external financing.

“This legislation is an important milestone for Nepal in protecting children’s rights to getting quality immunization service; increasing country ownership; and sustaining the national immunization program by securing adequate funding,” said the Hon. Ranju Kumari Jha, chairperson of the Nepali Parliamentary Committee on Women, Children, Senior Citizen and Social Welfare. “I hope Nepalese children will be able to receive the full benefits of our immunization program. However, to achieve this goal, we need to work together to ensure the effective implementation of the law.”

This news is particularly important to Sabin’s Sustainable Immunization Financing (SIF) Program, which works in Nepal and 21 other countries to ensure increased and reliable immunization financing. The SIF Program collaborates with counterparts in government ministries and parliaments, subnational decision-makers and the private sector to develop innovative financing solutions, such as Nepal’s new immunization fund.

“Work on this bill began in 2012. Nepal now joins eight other SIF countries with immunization legislation on their books,” said Mike McQuestion, Ph.D., M.P.H., SIF program director. “Greater political commitment, expressed in part through laws, is building the momentum needed for countries to fully finance their immunization programs and achieve the goals set forth in the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP).”…