US Commits $1.16 Billion Dollars To Reduce Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that the U.S. Government will commit $1.16 billion over Fiscal Years 2020-2023 to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, subject to US Congressional appropriations.

This multi-year US commitment will support Gavi's efforts to immunize 300 million additional children by 2025, which will save 8 million lives.

In addition, the USAID contribution will strengthen routine immunization against outbreak-prone diseases such as measles, and maintain stockpiles of vaccines against Ebola, cholera, yellow fever, and meningitis.

This amount includes $290 million in the US Fiscal Year 2021 President's Budget, which was released on February 10, 2020.

The Budget Request supports the President’s commitment to serve the needs of American citizens, ensure their safety, promote their prosperity, preserve their rights, and defend their values, as outlined in the National Security Strategy.

“This announcement is an important vote of confidence for Gavi’s mission and model,” said Dr. Seth Berkley, Gavi’s CEO, in a press release. 

“It will go a long way to help us build on our successful efforts over the last 20 years to provide the poorest, most vulnerable children in the world with the essential vaccines they need to survive and thrive.”

“Immunization is among the most cost-effective ways to save lives, improve health and ensure long-term prosperity in developing countries, and it makes the world less vulnerable to large-scale disease outbreaks that can cross borders rapidly and threaten the entire world,” Dr. Berkley added. 

“That’s why investment in Gavi from donors like the United States is so critical to global health security.”

Gavi’s press release said ‘US leadership on global health has helped bring about extraordinary progress in recent decades and the US must continue to build on that momentum in the years to come.’

‘Working together, the United States and Gavi can help protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases and make the world a safer and healthier place.’

The United States is one of the Vaccine Alliance’s original 6 donor countries and contributes to Gavi through direct contributions. The US’s annual contributions have increased from USD $48 million in 2001 to USD $275 million in 2017.

During 2018 and 2019, the US contributions to Gavi reached USD $290 million each year.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is supported by donor governments such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, Principality of Monaco, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, the State of Qatar, the Sultanate of Oman, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States, the European Commission, Alwaleed Philanthropies, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as private and corporate partners.

International Vaccine news published by Vax-Before-Travel.