The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with six vaccine suppliers to provide a combined vaccine against five deadly childhood diseases for half the price it currently pays.
An estimated 5.7 million deaths a year could be averted under the deal to send 450 million doses to 80 countries between 2017-2020, the agency added.
“We will be able to procure pentavalent vaccine to protect children ... for less than $1 a dose,” Shanelle Hall, director of UNICEF’s supply and procurement division, told a news briefing.
