Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF) announced at the Global Vaccine Impact Conference a US$2 million joint investment in the NutriVax Project, an integrated nutrition and immunization research partnership. Each organization will contribute US$1 million to this innovative project, which will integrate life-saving interventions that traditionally have been separate – delivery of immunizations and malnutrition prevention products. Research funded by this investment has the potential to be ground-breaking for continuous improvement in countries hit by the double burden of malnutrition and low vaccination coverage.

The NutriVax Project will include a randomized control trial in Nigeria. Research, including field experience from ALIMA, suggests that offering nutritional supplementation may serve as an incentive for caregivers to bring their children to health centers for routine vaccinations. The trial funded by ECF and Gavi will provide communities with small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements, or SQ-LNS, which are nutrient-rich pastes that can be mixed with foods for infants and young children at home. These revolutionary supplements have been designed to prevent undernutrition and, paired with vaccinations, could have the potential to exponentially increase the number of lives saved.

Vaccine-preventable illnesses and malnutrition cause millions of child deaths each year, and a dangerous cycle exists between the two that markedly increases the risk of child mortality. Through the NutriVax Project, ECF and Gavi aspire to achieve more together than what is possible alone, reaching a vulnerable cohort of children in need of both vaccines and malnutrition prevention.

"Malnutrition services and immunization are already two of the very best buys in global development, especially when it comes to preventing children from dying," says William Moore, CEO of ECF. "There is some evidence that malnutrition interventions can be combined with vaccination services to save more lives and increase demand for vaccines. The Eleanor Crook Foundation is excited to join forces with the Gavi Alliance to test this innovative bundle at scale."

A strong result from this trial would prove that pairing nutritional supplementation with vaccines is both cost-effective and exponentially life-saving – potentially optimizing how the global community comes together to save lives.

"Given the serious disruptions caused by the pandemic, this is the time to invest better and smarter, as countries gradually find ways to restore and strengthen immunization, nutrition and other essential services," said Guillaume Grosso, Director of Sovereign & Private Sector Engagement, Donor Relations & Campaigns at Gavi. "We are proud to partner with ECF to generate evidence around cost-effective ways to drive the big catch-up in immunization via nutritional services in Nigeria."