By Josephine Sesay
President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, delivered a compelling call to action at the GAVI Global vaccine impact summit in Brussels, urging world leaders to reaffirm their commitment to health equity and ensure universal access to life-saving immunisations.
Speaking before an assembly of global policymakers, health advocates, and international partners, president Bio declared that health through immunisation is not a privilege, it is a right, emphasizing that access to vaccines should be treated as a matter of justice, not charity.
The president highlighted Sierra Leone’s strides in strengthening its immunisation program, including the introduction of the malaria and HPV vaccines, and maintaining over 90% coverage of key childhood vaccines among the highest in West Africa, these investments have halved child mortality and built stronger, more resilient communities, he noted, every vaccine delivered represents a child protected, a family spared from grief, and a health worker empowered.
President Bio also referenced Sierra Leone’s recent response to an MPOX outbreak, underscoring the country’s strengthened disease surveillance and emergency preparedness capacity lessons learned from managing past health crises like Ebola and COVID-19.
In the face of shifting global aid dynamics, the President reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to increasing domestic health investments and expanding partnerships to sustain progress, we must protect the gains we have made and push further, he stated, health is not a privilege for the fortunate; it is a right for everyone.
President Bio praised GAVI’s newly unveiled five-year strategy, GAVI 6.0, describing it as a critical roadmap to ensure that no child dies from preventable diseases due to poverty or geography. He called on the international community to rally behind this vision and deliver on the promise of equitable healthcare.
The summit, co-hosted by GAVI, the European Union, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, convened global stakeholders to chart the future of immunisation and build more sustainable, equitable health systems worldwide.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Wednesday, 2nd July, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
