Kigali, Rwanda - Seven African countries have pledged to conduct an immunization campaign against pneumococcal disease by the end of this year, to prevent the adverse effects of the disease identified as the main cause of infant mortality on the continent, official sources said Tuesday in Kigali, the Rwandan capital. The seven countries are the Central African Republic, Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Congo and Mali. According to the sources, the campaign will be coordinated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

The Alliance plans to introduce anti-pneumococcal vaccines in about  40 developing countries, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, by 2015.

Pana 06/07/2011