Immunization in the 21st century - the way forward

Major changes will impact the way national immunization programmes and serv ices are planned and implemented over the next decade and beyond. This pape r presents the most significant health policy contexts, the relevant featur es of health systems development and new prospects for service delivery. It outlines ways of transforming a dedicated disease control programme, polio eradication, for a broader health agenda. Progress anticipated in research for new vaccines and technologies is described. Reaching the new targets b eing established will require strong partnerships and the recent creation o f the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations is an important step i n this direction. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.