The UK has confirmed its support for global vaccination by pledging £1.25bn to global vaccine group Gavi while the US will halt funding to the international organisation.
A provider of free jabs for meningitis, malaria and other disease immunisation, Gavi conducted a fundraiser at its annual Global Summit held in Brussels on 25 June. The organisation raised more than $9bn, less than it had targeted.
The group had set a fundraising target of $11.9bn for its 2026-2030 budget. The group commented that the total could rise further, as more donor commitments are expected in the coming months.
The UK was the largest individual pledger, with no other country or private sector donation eclipsing its £1.25bn ($1.7bn) figure. The Gates Foundation committed $1.6bn for the vaccine alliance, making it the second largest donor. The European Commission provided €360m, as part of a total pledge of more than €2bn from Team Europe, which includes the EU and its member states.
Gavi said the funds will help protect 500 million children from preventable diseases and avert up to nine million future deaths.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “I’m immensely proud of the role the UK has played in reaching these milestones. Our ongoing partnership with Gavi will give millions of children a better start, save lives and protect us all from the spread of deadly diseases.”
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By GlobalDataUS pulls back funding
While the UK continues its close 25-year partnership with Gavi, the US is halting funding to the organisation. In a move that reflects the country’s ongoing pullback from international aid, US health secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr (RFK) claimed Gavi had ignored science.
“I call on Gavi today to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8bn that America has provided in funding since 2001,” he said in a video statement.
“And I’ll tell you how to start taking vaccine safety seriously: Consider the best science available, even when the science contradicts established paradigms. Until that happens, the United States won’t contribute more to Gavi.”
Gavi said it received $300m from the US last year, with the country also the largest donor to its Covid-19 vaccine programme. Bill Gates told the Financial Times this week that his philanthropic organisation would not fill the vaccine gap left by rich nations’ aid cuts.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) chief particularly attacked the safety of the DTP or DTPw (diphtheria-tetanus-whole cell pertussis) vaccine.
Gavi released a lengthy statement in response to RFK Jr’s accusation. The group outlined the stringent reviews of vaccine data that occur before any decision is made regarding its portfolio of jabs.
Gavi said in a statement: “The DTPw vaccine has been administered to millions of children around the world for decades and is estimated to have saved more than 40 million lives over the past 50 years.
“Gavi fully concurs with the Secretary for Health and Human Services on the need to consider all available science and remains committed to continuing an evidence-based and scientific approach to its work and investment decisions, as it always has done.”
The decision to cut off funding to Gavi is the latest vaccine-oriented move by RFK Jr. Earlier this month, the health secretary fired the entirety of a vaccine committee in the US, replacing members with vaccine sceptics and individuals lacking public health experience. Experts are concerned about the future of immunisation in the US because of his changes.
