From time to time, we present milestones from our first three decades. Last time, we talked about our work to prevent cervical cancer in the developing world. Today, learn about our efforts to introduce a vaccine against Japanese encephalitis across Asia.

2003 to present

The health challenge: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a deadly, disabling virus that exacts a hidden toll from the poor, rural communities in Asia and the Western Pacific where it is endemic.

A boy in India is immunized against Japanese encephalitis during a 2006 campaign. Photo: PATH/Julie Jacobson.

What we did: Beginning in 2003, PATH led a project to tackle JE, providing critical technical support to countries working to make immunization routine, building awareness of JE throughout the region, and negotiating with a Chinese manufacturer to produce a JE vaccine at a special public-sector price to make the vaccine affordable in the developing countries that needed it.

The result: Successful immunization campaigns in Cambodia, India, North Korea, and other countries have provided the vaccine to more than 60 million children.