CDC Celebrates 10 Years of Supporting The Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives
October 12, 2023— This year, the Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives (PIVI), marks a decade of supporting the development of sustainable flu and COVID-19 vaccination programs, in low- and middle-income countries. Since its founding in 2013, PIVI has provided more than 5.1 million doses of flu vaccine and/or technical assistance to Ministries of Health in twenty-one countries. This number is expected to grow over the coming decade, as PIVI plans to expand outreach to partners in 30 countries by 2030.
Originally the “Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction,” PIVI is a public/private partnership between CDC, The Task Force for Global Health, Ministries of Health, corporate partners, and others working toward the goal of protecting people around the globe against flu and other vaccine preventable respiratory diseases by building vaccine delivery systems to respond to seasonal epidemics and pandemics.
During the past ten years, PIVI has assisted partner countries in building sustainable influenza vaccination programs. Countries follow a multi-year plan with the goal of managing their domestic vaccination programs. During the multi-year engagement, countries receive flu vaccines, technical assistance, support to help inform country-level decision making around vaccine policy, and funding for program costs and evaluation. In addition to seasonal flu activities, PIVI has supported the countries’ pandemic preparedness efforts especially in improving their capacities for vaccine distribution and administration. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, PIVI countries leveraged existing infrastructure from seasonal influenza vaccination programs in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. CDC works closely with PIVI as the primary technical collaborator to engage partner countries and conduct vaccine program evaluations and other related research to help the countries make evidence-based decisions and policies. In addition to providing technical assistance, CDC continues to be a primary funder of the program.
PIVI began following the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009, when Walgreens asked CDC to partner to help donate excess seasonal flu vaccines internationally. In 2012, 350,000 flu vaccines were delivered to Laos through CDC’s partnerships with the government of Laos, the World Health Organization Country Office in Laos, Walgreens, and UPS. After Laos’s first-ever seasonal flu vaccination program, The Task Force for Global Health formally launched PIVI as one of their key programs in 2013 with support from CDC and a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Supporting influenza vaccination programs, like PIVI, protects people against the annual impact of flu and helps to build and maintain vaccination program infrastructure so that those systems are ready in the event of a pandemic. CDC’s continued investments and global partnerships can improve health and advance preparedness capacity across the globe against seasonal and pandemic threats. More information on CDC’s international influenza work is available.
