Bill Gates, UK take lead in $7.5b pledge for children’s vaccines

International donors have pledged $7.5 billion to immunise 300 million children in poor countries against deadly diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia.

At a Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation conference on Wednesday in Berlin, Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and the British government topped the donations list at $1.55 billion and $1.5 billion respectively.

Gerd Mueller, German Development Minister, said the total of $7.54 billion, surpassing GAVI’s target of $7.5 billion, was in spite of a stronger dollar complicating funding efforts.

Mueller said other major donors included the US, Norway and Germany.

China, a recipient of GAVI assistance early last decade, has now become a donor.

Dagfinn Hoybraten, GAVI Chairman, said it was a bold task to world leaders but also a very compelling case.

Hoybraten said in the course of five years from 2016 to 2020, there was the possibility of vaccinating another 300 million children and avert 5 to 6 million future deaths.

Gates, who has donated $4 billion to GAVI since it began 15 years ago, said there had been “amazing” progress but one in 20 children still died before their fifth birthday.

“The goal for the next 15 years is to cut that in half again to get it to one in 40,” he said.

Michael Elliott of anti-poverty group One, described GAVI as a way for rich countries to give “an infinitesimal part of their tax money to save lives”.

Jasmine Whitbread, Chief of Save the Children, said the problems were still huge because in some of the world’s poorest communities only 16 per cent of children are reached.

GAVI has provided vaccines to about 500 million children worldwide and saved 6 to 7 million lives from diseases like pneumonia, hepatitis B, diarrhea and measles, working with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, World Bank and charities.

Reuters/NAN.