By Anna Mudeva AMSTERDAM, May 25 (Reuters) - A major global programme that encourages the use of new vaccines against diseases that kill millions of children hopes to stimulate development of more new-generation vaccines. Rosamund Lewis, senior programme officer at the World Health Organisation-backed GAVI alliance, said on Friday that creating a market in poor countries for newly licensed vaccines against illnesses such as rotavirus would help boost vaccine development for the two biggest killers -- malaria and HIV/AIDS. "In the past there was a 20 year gap between availability of a vaccine for a critical illness and people using it in developing countries," Lewis told Reuters in an interview at the start of an international health conference in Amsterdam. "We have shown it is possible to shorten the gap and bring vaccines to the countries soon after they are produced." Thanks to the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI) -- backed by the the private sector and governments -- a record number of children in poor countries are receiving life-saving vaccines. GAVI is now working to introduce in the next 3 to 5 years newly licenced vaccines against rotavirus and pneumococcus disease that kill an estimated 1.5 million children every year. Rotavirus causes diarrhoea and 500,000 deaths among children, while pneumococcus causes pneumonia, meningitis and blood poisoning and is a leading cause of death for infants. Both diseases affect children on every continent, but are particularly deadly in developing nations. "Ten years ago vaccine producers may have not been very interested in developing countries but in the intervening period we created a market where producers are interested," Lewis said. She said that GAVI had raised funding for the introduction of recently licensed vaccines in developing countries and was approaching pharmaceutical companies to secure quick production. "So for example malaria, different types of pneumococcus vaccine, we tell companies whoever can produce this product will have a guaranteed purchase," Lewis said "We hope it will stimulate pharmaceutical companies to work faster. It's the first time that a commercial incentive has been turned around and used for development." Figures released earlier this year showed immunisation funded by the GAVI alliance in developing countries had avoided an estimated 2.3 million early deaths since 2000 by vaccinating 138 million children. The GAVI scheme is also driving vaccine prices down as the alliance creates competition among pharamaceutical companies in developing countries like India and China and rich countries. Since its inception in 2000, GAVI has received funding from 17 donor governments and has committed $2.6 billion to support national immunisation programmes in more than 70 countries.
