In Spain, regional authorities play a key role in implementing vaccination programmes. While all regions follow a national calendar, they have a degree of freedom in how they deliver vaccines. This provides opportunities to try new approaches.
In Galicia, northeastern Spain, a wide range of stakeholders from the public and private sectors are working together to achieve a common goal: better protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.
In this interview, Vaccines Today speaks to Carmen Duran, Director of Public Health of the Galicia region, about the region’s experience of collaboration.
How can multi-stakeholder collaboration advance vaccination coverage?
Vaccination programmes, their development, and coverage rates depend on multiple agents: health administration, professionals, pharmaceutical industry, and the citizens themselves.
The role of decision-making bodies or managers in the health sector is essential to define the primary prevention policies to be developed, the investment to be made, and the alliances that must be established to improve both immunisation schedules and vaccination coverage. Additionally, it is also at this level where the logistics that directly impact access to vaccines are optimized.
On the other hand, having the collaboration and active participation of healthcare professionals is fundamental in any vaccination programme. It has been shown that if a health professional recommends vaccination to their patient, coverage rates increase significantly.
Collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry is also not negligible in fields as diverse as innovation and technology to improve administration methods, vaccine training, and sustainability.
Last but not least, is citizen collaboration. Without a population with a culture of vaccines; a population that is fully aware of the importance of vaccination, it is very difficult for the rest of the efforts to contribute to improving immunization coverage.
What has been your experience of public-private partnership coordination and collaboration in Galicia?
In Galicia, a collaboration strategy has been initiated for four years that encompasses actions in several areas:
a) Research: real-life studies are being carried out that provide information on the effectiveness of the vaccines being acquired in Galicia, leading to the application of translational research and pragmatic public health.
b) Studies on vaccination coverage: surveys are being developed to understand the beliefs, fears, values, etc., of the Galician population regarding vaccines. The objective is to design a communication strategy based on the results of these surveys.
c) Training of healthcare professionals in immunisation therapies.
d) Risk-sharing agreements based on health outcomes as a new formula for vaccine acquisition.
What can others learn from the experience of Galicia?
Public-private partnerships in the field of vaccines bring multiple benefits such as innovation, improved efficiency of logistical processes, synergy in research and training, as well as the sustainability of the healthcare system through, for example, sharing financial risk via risk-sharing agreements.
On the other hand, relationships with private companies must be managed appropriately to minimise conflicts of interest, optimise transparency, and avoid excessive dependence on this sector. It is also a challenge to align public-private interests, which requires solid regulatory frameworks and transparent contractual agreements.
