European Commission pledges €300 million to Gavi

The European Commission announced a pledge of €300 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, for the period 2021–2025. It will help immunise 300 million children around the world and finance vaccine stockpiles to shield against outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The Global Vaccine Summit organized by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is an important milestone in strengthening health systems and immunisation capacities of the world’s most vulnerable countries. This is instrumental in reaching the objectives of the Coronavirus Global Response.

At the Coronavirus Global Response pledging event co-hosted by the European Commission on 4 May, more than €1.5 billion was pledged for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, including €488 million for deploying, once available, a vaccine against coronavirus.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said, “Vaccines can only save lives if everyone who needs them can access them, especially in the most vulnerable communities and regions of the world. This is why Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s work is so important. It gives developing countries the means to build stronger health systems and immunisation programmes, to make the world a safer place. I am glad that the European Commission can support Gavi in such a crucial endeavour. This will help us overcome this pandemic and avoid another.”

The new Commission pledge of €300 million represents more than its total contribution to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance so far. The funding will help:

• Vaccinate 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives.
• Ensure the successful transition of some countries into self-financing.
• Leverage US$ 3.6 billion in national co-financing and self-funded vaccine programmes.
• Deliver over 3.2 billion doses of life-saving vaccines to 55 countries.
• Facilitate 1.4 billion contacts between families and health services through vaccination.
• Insure the world against the re-emergence of polio through routine inactivated polio vaccine programmes in collaboration with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
• Fund vaccine stockpiles for emergency use to stop dangerous outbreaks.

The pledge is made under the assumption that the EU’s new Multiannual Financial Framework and in particular the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), where the funds pledged for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, would come from, are adopted broadly along the lines proposed by the European Commission.

Original source: European Commission
Published on 04 June 2020