Dagfinn Høybråten will this week chair a Gavi Board meeting for the last time before stepping down at the end of 2015. Here he reflects on five years at the helm of the Vaccine Alliance, steering Gavi through pivotal moments in its 15-year history.

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Save the Children's State of the World's Mothers report underscores geographic disparities in vaccine availability.

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Now that donors have fully funded Gavi, we need bold action to ensure vaccines reach the children that need them most.

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Some global health challenges can seem insurmountable. Innovations are the key to changing the system for the better. The global community needs to encourage more initiatives like these, including Gavi’s work to improve vaccine implementation and strengthen health systems. They are examples that I hope will inspire us to do more.

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Since 2011, GAVI has funded a total of 67 new vaccine introductions and campaigns. By 2014 all 73 GAVI-supported countries will have introduced 5-in-1 pentavalent vaccines, including introductions in a number of fragile states, such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, Somalia and South Sudan. The cost of new, priority vaccines, such as pneumococcal and rotavirus, has also fallen significantly thanks to GAVI, and this is speeding up the time it takes for new vaccines to reach those children most in need.

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