The Immunization Partners in Asia Pacific (IPAP) was organized in response to the Siem Reap Declaration 2009 calling for “greater efforts to be undertaken by governments, non-governmental agencies, international organizations, academia and the private sector to ensure that each child is provided protection, as is his/her RIGHT” and an understanding reached during a meeting on July 29, 2011 at the 3rd Asian Vaccine Conference (ASVAC) in Jakarta, among different stakeholders about the need for a heterogeneous group of partners which will study and implement advocacy programs focusing on all vaccine preventable diseases. During the 2011 meeting the following observations were made:

a) There exists a gap in the achievement and maintenance (sustainability) of a high-level of vaccine accessibility and coverage with respect to the delivery to and acceptance of vaccination in communities in the Asia Pacific Region.

b) In order to improve vaccination coverage among infant and children in the region, interventions and recommendations specific to a locality (or most applicable to the local setting and addressing local problem) must always be the primary consideration.

c) The formation of a task force/group which will study, review and provide recommendations (i.e. strategies, policies, priorities, programs, interventions, etc) for the eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases in the region is deemed imperative.

d) To allow the group to operate within a broad framework of participation and cooperation, the composition of the group shall not be limited to think tanks from the academe and research community but will welcome partners from different sectors such as the government, non-profit organizations and foundations, international medical and specialty societies and pharmaceutical industries.

With these in mind, IPAP seeks to engender collaboration, cooperation and partnerships among governments, international agencies, non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, key opinion leaders, donors, health authorities, health providers, business stakeholders, patient groups and professionals in order to develop a dynamic, reliable and effective advocacy campaign to increase, expand and improve the immunization coverage in the region for all preventable diseases.

IPAP believes that the enjoyment of a healthy existence is a basic human right and that protection of the right to health is imperative for the enjoyment of other fundamental human rights as health is integrated and closely intertwined with the rights to survival, education, freedom from poverty and environmental protection. IPAP commits that a human-rights based approach shall be the foundation of all advocacy, programs, projects and activities. It further commits to explore all avenues to ensure that the right to health shall be the paramount consideration in the conduct of advocacy and adoption of policies in both the public and private sectors.