Global vaccine initiative creates inequity, analysis concludes.(News)(Brief Article)

An analysis of the operation of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the private-public venture launched last year with a $750m (500m [pounds sterling]) donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has concluded that it overemphasises high tech vaccines, lacks sustainability and transparency, and relies too heavily on private sector funding.

The alliance, whose founding partners include the World Health Organization, Unicef, the World Bank, and some national governments, aims "to fulfil the right of every child to be protected against vaccine-preventable diseases of public health concern" (www.vaccine alliance.org).

The analysis, by Dr …