Haiti Presents Plan To Immunize 90 Percent Of Newborns

Haiti has a plan to vaccinate 90 percent of newborns by 2015, according to PAHO, but "[w]hether the plan works will depend on Haiti's ability to reverse decades of incompetent government and bad coordination among aid groups," as well as whether there will be funding, the New York Times reports.

The plan needs $100 million to be carried out, and even with approval from the GAVI Alliance, funding would still fall $21 million short, according to the newspaper. Under the plan, children would receive a pentavalent immunization that protects against Haemophilus influenzae type B, or Hib, hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, as well as vaccines against rotavirus and pneumococcal infections. If the plan is approved by GAVI, Haiti would be the last country in the Western hemisphere to adopt pentavalent vaccinations (McNeil, 5/16).