The GAVI vaccines alliance said it has raised $8.8 billion from international donor governments, companies and philanthropic foundations to fund its immunisation programmes through to 2025.

At a funding summit in London, GAVI said the pledges had exceeded its target of $7.4 billion, and would “help immunise 300 million more children in the world’s poorest countries against diseases like measles, polio and diphtheria”.

The vaccines alliance also said it had raised $567 million towards an initial goal of $2 billion from international donors for an Advanced Market Commitment to buy future COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries.

The deal would help secure enough COVID-19 vaccine doses — when the shots have been developed — for poor countries to immunise healthcare workers and those at high risk, it said, as well as creating a “buffer of doses” for use when needed.

What is the GAVI Alliance?

The GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) is a global health partnership of public and private sector organisations dedicated to “immunisation for all”. 

It was set up as a Global Health Partnership in 2000 with the goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. In particular, GAVI aims at accelerating access to vaccines, strengthening countries’ health and immunisation systems, and introducing innovative new immunisation technology.

It is backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO, the World Bank, UNICEF and others, which arranges bulk buys to reduce vaccine costs for poor countries. 

It provides a unique opportunity for a wide-range of partners to build consensus around policies, strategies, and priorities and to recommend responsibility of implementation to the partner with the most experience and insight in the area. GAVI has developed innovative approaches to international health and development.

It plays a critical role in strengthening primary health care, bringing closer to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring that no one is left behind.

Vaccine Summit

Britain, which hosted the summit, was among the largest donors to GAVI’s core $8.8 billion funding, pledging the equivalent of 330 million pounds ($416 million) per year over the next five years, GAVI said.

British PM Boris Johnson said GAVI could count on the UK’s full contribution to help “the triumph of humanity over disease, now and for the generations that follow”.

Other top donors included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gave $1.6 billion for the period up to 2025, and the governments of Norway, Germany and the United States.

“To beat the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs more than breakthrough science. It needs breakthrough generosity. And that's what we're seeing today as leaders across the public and private sectors are stepping up to support GAVI,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the philanthropic Gates Foundation, told the summit.

India pledges $15 million for GAVI

India pledged $15 million to the international vaccine alliance Gavi, the Prime Minister's Office said.

The amount was pledged as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by British PM Boris Johnson. 

In his address, Modi said India stands in solidarity with the world in these challenging times, according to a statement from the PMO. Referring to Gavi, he said it is not just a global alliance but also a symbol of global solidarity and a reminder that by helping others we can also help ourselves, according to a statement.

He said one of the first programmes launched by his government was Mission Indradhanush, which aims to ensure full vaccination of the country’s children and pregnant women, including those in the remote parts of the vast nation.

He said in order to expand protection, India has added six new vaccines to its National Immunisation Programme.

The PM elaborated that India had digitised its entire vaccine supply line and developed an electronic vaccine intelligence network to monitor the integrity of its cold chain.

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