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The Hib Initiative

Launched in 2005 with a four-year US$ 37 million grant from the GAVI Alliance, The Hib Initiative focuses on preventing childhood pneumonia and meningitis in 72 of the world’s poorest countries.

The vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), the bacterium that causes these diseases, had been an underused vaccine in the developing world, even though it had been proven safe and effective and routinely used in industrialised countries for more than 15 years.

With the help of the Hib Initiative, uptake by GAVI countries of Hib vaccine, has risen dramatically and produced good global results.

Hib and childhood mortality

  • Hib causes approximately 3 million serious infections and 400,000 childhood deaths every year.
  • It is the leading cause of childhood meningitis in the pre-vaccine era.
  • It is the second most common cause of bacterial pneumonia deaths in children aged under five.

Barriers to Hib vaccine

Activities supported by the Hib Initiative are tailored to address the obstacles to Hib vaccine introduction in the developing world. These include:
  • limited awareness of the disease or the disease burden
  • concerns about the financial and logistical impact of vaccine introduction.

Aims of the Hib Initiative

The Hib Initiative aims to support developing countries so they can make informed decisions regarding the introduction, or continuation, of Hib vaccines or other Hib disease prevention strategies.

It supports a variety of regional and country efforts to measure Hib disease burden, including assessing the impact of vaccination and looking at Hib prevention in the context of other health priorities.

The Initiative unites four organisations that coordinate their efforts in the areas of strategic coordination, research and surveillance and communication:

GAVI strategies also helping accelerate access to Hib vaccine