13/06/2011

World's Poorest Children To Be Immunised By 2015

Major public and private donors achieved a milestone in global health today by committing funding to immunise more than 250 million of the world’s poorest children against life-threatening diseases by 2015 and prevent more than four million premature deaths.

At the summit in London, countries are being asked to give an extra £2.3bn ($3.7bn) by 2015 for child vaccines. The Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) says this could help save four million lives in four years.

GAVI recently reported a record 50 countries applied for vaccine funding during the Alliance’s latest application round – nearly double the previous record in 2007. This new support will allow GAVI to fully fund approved applications.

“Today is an important moment in our collective commitment to protecting children in developing countries from disease,” said President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “But every 20 seconds, a child still dies of a vaccine-preventable disease. There’s more work to be done.”

The meeting convened prime ministers, ministers and high-level officials from donor and developing countries, leaders of UN Agencies, CEOs from private companies and senior civil society leaders to make commitments to support GAVI’s life-saving work. The meeting was hosted by the governments of the United Kingdom and Liberia and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “GAVI was one of the very top performers in our root-and-branch review of the agencies that deliver British aid because it demonstrates tangible results. Britain will play its full part and our support to GAVI will help vaccinate over 80 million children and save 1.4 million lives. That’s one child vaccinated every two seconds for five years.”.

He has pledged £814m to help vaccinate children around the world against preventable diseases like pneumonia.

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said: "For the first time in history, children in developing countries will receive the same vaccines against diarrhoea and pneumonia as children in rich countries.

“Together we must do more to ensure that all children – no matter where they live – have equal access to life-saving vaccines.”

Participants also agreed to meet in two years time to review GAVI’s progress in immunisation and resource mobilisation.

(BMcN/GK)

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