Dubai: The highest ever financial commitment to support childhood immunisation was made earlier this week during a conference in Berlin, including $1.55 billion (Dh5.7 billion) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and, for the first time new donors from the Gulf region.
The total pledges at the Gavi Replenishment Conference in Berlin were worth $7.5 billion, a press statement by the Gates Foundation said.
“The funding will enable Gavi to reach an additional 300 million children with vaccines by 2020 and save up to 6 million lives by protecting them from life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, measles and severe diarrhea,” added the statement, a copy of which was received by Gulf News.
Additionally, China, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia made pledges to Gavi for the first time.
“Today is a great day for children in the world’s poorest countries who will now receive the life-saving vaccines they need,” Bill Gates said.
“We believe in the next 15 years, poor people’s lives will improve faster than any other period in history and that access to vaccines provided by Gavi are critical to making that happen.”
Gavi, which was launched in 2000, is a public-private partnership committed to saving children’s lives and protecting people’s heath by improving access to immunisation in poor countries.
In her statement at the conference, the first under Germany’s G7 presidency, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “There is a long way still to go but today’s conference is an important milestone in the work of Gavi for the next few years to come. Please let us not fail, let us not lose courage but continue to put all our efforts into this wonderful work and thank all of those who are committed to this goal.”
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is funded by western and Asian governments, organisations, corporations as well as individuals.
