Global Vaccine Impact Conference: Day One & Two Highlights
The Global Vaccine Impact Conference is bringing together some of the biggest names in global immunisation in Madrid from the 13-15 June. Here are some of the key quotes from the first two days.
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Gender and HPV session at the MTR Gavi Meeting in Madrid, Spain. 15th of June 2023. Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"Spain considers global health as a priority to achieve human development and the well-being of our societies."
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"An eighth of humanity has been vaccinated thanks to the work of the Vaccine Alliance. We've seen a 70% reduction in vaccine-preventable disease deaths and a 50% drop in under-five mortality."
H.E. Dr Pierre Somsé, Minister of Health, Central African Republic
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"With Gavi, we've worked as one team. It is in that spirit that we organised a national immunisation forum that gathered all stakeholders around the table, including armed groups, to restart immunisation activities. By fighting polio, we also opened avenues for peace. Those things, no-one talks about them. We can't put a price on peace. And the same is true of immunisation."
Thomas Cueni, Director General, IFPMA
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"I don't know of a single manufacturer who didn't deliver at lowest tiered pricing for COVAX."
Hon. Dr Wilhelmina Jallah, Minister of Health, Liberia
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"All of the partners are doing critical programmes - Global Fund, USAID, Gavi and UN agencies. In order for us to reach our goals, you need to support us to become independent. Ultimately we want to be able to afford to buy our own vaccines."
H.E. Mr Gilbert Mokoki, Minister of Health and Population, Republic of Congo
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"I want to thank Gavi for helping us get high quality cold chain and ultra cold chain. But this cold chain has to be maintained. That means you have to train staff. Ignorance can have dire consequences. So we partnered with Gavi to strengthen the capacities of our staff in primary healthcare."
Antón Leis Garcia, Director of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID)
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
“We need to move from aid to partnership, Poverty is our worst enemy, and when we look at these zero-dose children, it is a failure of the global community.”
H.E. Dr Abdael-Madjid Abderahim Mahamat, Minister of Public Health, Chad
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"Many children were deprived of immunisation because of the pandemic and insecurity. We brought people together and we reduced the rate of zero dose children thanks to Gavi's support. What we want is to vaccinate children. And in our campaign we also included vitamin A supplements to bolster the health of children."
Dr Ephrem Tekle Lemango, Chief of Immunisation, UNICEF
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"We need to catch up not tomorrow, but today. We need governments to catch up children missed during the pandemic, and restore services that were disrupted by the pandemic to reach children. Finally, we need to make investments in systems to reach those zero-dose children. In 2022, we are seeing recovery signs, but there remains much to be done."
H.E. Dr Qasem Buhaibeh, Minister of Public Health and Population, Yemen
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"Thanks to the support of Gavi we were able to improve immunisation systems and routine vaccinations, and we have improved cold chain. The experience has been a positive one. We have also created a network of volunteers, women, who work in the health sector. That has allowed us to make progress in our campaigns and they have also spread the word in families and communities on the benefits of immunisation."
H.E. Dr Dionísio Cumba, Minister of Health, Guinea Bissau
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"Gavi is our greatest partner in terms of supporting us. Gavi covers 80% of our regions. Recovery has reached very high levels - we vaccinated over 350,000 children against polio with our recent campaign, for example."
Rt Hon. Andrew Mitchell, Minister for Development, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK
Still from video shown during the conference.
"Immunisation is central to the UK's efforts to end preventable deaths of mothers and newborns... we must double down on reaching children in challenging circumstances who miss out on vaccinations, and build stronger systems for the future. Strong immunisation systems are an essential cornerstone."
Doris Herrera-Pol, IFFIm Board Member
Credit: Gavi.org/Benedikt von Loebell
"IFFIm has been at its best during crises, coming to the forefront. The Ebola crisis was one such example. All of a sudden Gavi needed US$ 300 million dollars and, thanks to the capital markets, we were able to raise it fast and at very cost-effective terms. And thanks to those stockpiles, the DRC was then later able to access vaccines right away and protect the lives of 200,000 people."
