In 2006, Merck and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health announced a new partnership at the Clinton Global Initiative through which all eligible infants born in Nicaragua in a three-year period would receive free doses of Merck's ROTATEQ^® (rotavirus vaccine, live, oral pentavalent), an  oral, ready-to-use vaccine that helps to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis. Through this partnership, ROTATEQ was made available in a developing country in the same year it became available in a developed country; this is a historic precedent and demonstrates the commitment of Merck to make this vaccine available to children around the world. Historically, it has taken decades after the first launch for most vaccines to become available in developing countries.

In addition to helping protect infants and young children from rotavirus, Merck is providing assistance in administrative, training and logistical aspects related to an expansion of Nicaragua's immunization calendar, in strengthening local rotavirus surveillance networks, and in assessing the public health benefit resulting from the early adoption and use of a rotavirus vaccine.

In addition to the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health, other partners in the program include the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), The Nicaraguan Pediatric and Medical societies and NICASALUD/FAMISALUD, a national consortium of nongovernmental organizations working in the country supported by the U. S. Agency for International Development.

The partnership is the first rotavirus vaccine introduction program in a GAVI-eligible country and is part of Merck's systematic approach to facilitating the introduction of routine rotavirus vaccination in resource-constrained countries by demonstrating the ease of introduction and public health benefit of implementing a full rotavirus vaccination.

After completion of the pilot in October 2009, sustainability of Nicaragua's vaccination program will be ensured by the GAVI commitment to support rotavirus vaccination and contributions from the Nicaraguan government. Merck will do its part to facilitate access by providing ROTATEQ to GAVI-eligible countries, including Nicaragua, at a no-profit price.

The content on this page was last modified on September 15, 2009.

Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, and Schering-Plough Corporation, Kenilworth, NJ, USA, are now one company. We have combined our global operations under the name Merck & Co., Inc. We are working to update our corporate responsibility Web site to reflect our new, combined, global organization.