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Geneva, 27 November 2014 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance today thanked the United Kingdom for its commitment to support immunisation programmes in developing countries between 2016 and 2020.
UK Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, confirmed that the UK will remain a leading supporter of Gavi programmes as the Vaccine Alliance seeks to help immunise a further 300 million children between 2016 and 2020, leading to a further five to six million lives being saved.
“Some of the world’s most deadly and debilitating diseases are entirely preventable through immunisation,” said Ms Greening. “Britain’s investment in immunisation through Gavi has already saved millions of lives and contributed to the fall in global child deaths.
“Investing in immunisation is one of the most cost-effective ways of saving lives and improving living standards, health and the global economy. It is in all our interests that we keep up the momentum to ensure that all the world’s children are protected with the safest and most modern vaccines.”
“We are grateful for the UK’s continued strong support for Gavi,” said Gavi CEO Dr Seth Berkley. “This cost-effective investment will help protect hundreds of millions of children from potentially fatal diseases and give them the opportunity to grow into healthy, economically productive adults.”
The UK is one of six original donors that have supported Gavi since it was formed in 2000. As well as direct contributions, the UK is also a strong supporter of the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), the Advance Market Commitment for pneumococcal vaccines and the Gavi Matching Fund, which sees donations from British businesses matched by the Department for International Development.
Today’s announcement confirmed that the UK will contribute up to an additional £1 billion towards vaccination programmes in the 73 poorest and most fragile countries in the world between 2016 and 2020. This investment will help Gavi to support an unprecedented scale up of vaccine programmes against pneumonia and diarrhoea, two of the leading killers of children under the age of five, as well as plans to vaccinate 30 million girls in 40 countries against the leading cause of cervical cancer.
Gavi-supported countries will play their part by contributing a total of around US$ 1.2 billion towards their immunisation programmes in the 2016 to 2020 period through the co-financing of vaccines. These programmes will unlock long-term economic benefits of US$ 80-100 billion in developing countries.
Vaccine Alliance partners will gather in Berlin on 27 January 2015 for a pledging event hosted under the patronage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The event will be an opportunity for donors to make financial pledges to ensure children are reached with vaccines through Gavi-supported programmes between 2016 and 2020.