Immunization Safety Priority Project
In 1999, the World Health Organization's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB) established the Immunization Safety Priority Project (ISPP) as a focus for addressing the many challenges relating to immunization safety existing in the world.
The primary goal of the Project was to establish a comprehensive system to ensure the safety of all immunization services given by national immunization programmes, ultimately enabling these services to prevent - or detect as early as possible and quickly respond to - adverse events following immunization, in order to minimize their negative impact on health and immunization programmes. Thus, the ISPP had overall responsibility for immunization safety activities in WHO.
The Project was planned to have a life span of 4-5 years, by which time it was anticipated that immunization safety would be a core component of all WHO's immunization activities. With this in mind, and with the endorsement of the WHO/UNICEF Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) by the World Health Assembly in 2005, the restructuring of immunization work at WHO Headquarters, and increased decentralization to the WHO regional offices, the Project ceased to function at the end of 2005. During the lifetime of the Project, strategic advice was given to WHO by the Steering Committee of the Priority Project, also established in 1999.
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ISPP final report
Describes Project objectives, activities, achievements and future challenges
The main responsibility for immunization safety activities at WHO Headquarters now resides with IVB's Quality, Safety and Standards team. This team is responsible for: setting norms and standards and establishing reference materials; ensuring use of quality vaccines and immunization equipment through prequalification activities and capacity strengthening of national regulatory authorities; and monitoring, assessing and responding to immunization safety issues of global concern.
Page last updated: 12 September 2006
