WRITTEN QUESTION P-3282/98

by Gary Titley (PSE) to the Commission

(26 October 1998)

Subject: EU funding for immunisation programmes

How much money does the EU currently spend on programmes of immunisation against diseases such as polio in Europe and the rest of the world?

Does the EU have any plans to increase its funding of polio immunisation to help achieve the aim of the 1990 World Summit on Children to eradicate polio by the year 2000?

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-3152/98 and P-3282/98 given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission

(1 December 1998)

The Commission's communication on the Community and the Member States' policy on cooperation with the developing countries in the field of health(1) defines priorities for aid and centres on the reform of health systems and the reinforcement of each country's own capabilities.

If there is no direct financial support to different specific initiatives, the Commission tends to support the integration of these specific activities as far as possible. This integration is obtained firstly by taking into account particular problems during the preparation of national health development plans, sectoral reviews and evaluations; secondly through dialogue on the health budget and finally in many cases, directly within the scope of projects supporting basic health services and pharmaceutical policies.

The Commission does not directly finance projects that exclusively concentrate on polio such as the global polio eradication programme but focuses its efforts on the reinforcement of national capabilities in the field of vaccination. It supports efforts to secure the supply of priority vaccines (polio vaccine is included in the expanded programme of immunisation) in order to bring about a reduction in developing countries' dependence on external funding, notably by the inclusion in the budget of, and the release of expenditure for, the supply of vaccines.

The numerous interventions undertaken by the Commission at the level of basic health services contribute to the development and improvement of routine vaccination activities (this includes vaccination against polio). In this field, projects are underway in 32 sub-Saharan countries (for more than ECU 250 million in the 7th European development fund (EDF)) and, through the structural adjustment programmes, the priority budget lines of national health budgets have been secured for more than ECU 450 million in the course of the same period. As an example, under the West African regional programme (7th EDF) a project is underway (ECU 9,5 million) which aims to make the supply of vaccines secure (this includes polio vaccine) in the Sahel zone, and to provide technical support in order to facilitate the regional co-ordination of expanded programmes of immunisation.

If necessary and at the request of an individual government, this commitment can be increased in countries where there is both a dialogue on health policies and a structural adjustment programme. In this case, supplementary support can be agreed as a way to secure additional funding linked to the polio eradication programme (including the organisation of immunisation days) if this expenditure is included as a line in the national health budget.

(1) COM(94) 77 final.