Pharma giant GSK is funding an £800,000 immunisation drive being organised by Save the Children across Ethiopia and Nigeria.

The charity is launching a tender for local partners to deliver vaccinations and break down barrier preventing children from receiving medical protection from disease.

Called the Save the Children Immunisation Accelerator local community groups as well as national charities, research teams, social enterprises and tech companies are being invited to carry out the work.

“The most promising approaches will get the opportunity to increase their impact through financial and technical support and pilot their innovations in a live setting,” said the charity.

Grants up the value of £80,000 are being made available for the project, alongside technical advice such as legal guidance and help with branding and company start ups.

“We’re excited to see applications open for the Immunisation Accelerator,” said GSK chief global health officer Dr Thomas Breuer.

“Our partnership with Save the Children is guided by local communities, experts and stakeholders, so seeking out the local knowledge and capabilities in Ethiopia and Nigeria is fundamental in finding unique innovations that could help address the critical need for improvements to vaccination rates amongst children.

“We eagerly anticipate the fresh ideas that the Accelerator will bring, and Save the Children is ready to support these innovations come to fruition, to help change the trajectory for children in Nigeria, Ethiopia and beyond.”

Save the Children head of health Samy Ahmar added: “The Save the Children Immunisation Accelerator was borne out of an understanding of the urgent necessity for locally led innovation if we are to achieve our shared vision with GSK of a world where no child suffers from a vaccine preventable disease.

“Through our work in Ethiopia and Nigeria we have seen how powerful collaboration can be to protect children’s health.

“By identifying and nurturing new transferable innovations we hope to find unique ways to address the many barriers which prevent children from receiving vaccinations and are excited to see what ideas will come through.”

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