WHO South-East Asia Regional Framework for the prioritization of introduction of new vaccines

Overview

The Regional Framework for the prioritization of introduction of new vaccines provides guidance to Member States of the WHO South-East Asia Region to introduce new and existing vaccines that contribute to a reduction in the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases. The Framework will support existing national decision-making processes and facilitate informed, structured and collaborative action for long-term planning by national, regional and global stakeholders in immunization.

The document makes a comprehensive analysis of current issues related to the introduction of new vaccines and enumerates the deliberations of the Regional Workshop on introduction of new and underutilized vaccines in Bangkok, Thailand, on 25–28 April 2023. This considers various sources of evidence and guidance from WHO, the Global National Immunization Technical Advisory Group Network, and the experience of some Member States.

The document presents an overview of the processes for national priority-setting, key criteria and systematic approaches to developing evidence-based recommendations. It also provides information on tools and databases to support this process.