Gavi announced two major funding updates at the United Nations General Assembly High-level week 2024, revealing that it is making progress in its fundraising efforts for the upcoming strategic period. The first of these updates is that the European Commission has pledged funding for the first two years of Gavi 6.0, complementing “strong support” from Team Europe and contributing to Gavi’s goal of helping to protect 500 million more children around the world. Gavi also announced an expanded collaboration with the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), focussed on donor liquidity.
European support
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed a crowd at the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday 28th September, revealing a funding pledge of €260 million for 2026-2027 and promising more to follow. The funds will support Gavi’s 2030 ambition of providing protection to 500 million more children, strengthening immunisation systems, and boosting global health security by “increasing readiness to respond to disease outbreaks”.
Added to the money pledged so far by the United States, France, Spain, and others in June 2024, this pledge takes Gavi’s total for the next strategic period to US$2.7 billion. The target is at least US$9 billion, which would enable Gavi to protect more children against more diseases, faster, and protect the world from outbreaks of disease when they occur. The €260 million pledge is for the first two years of Gavi’s upcoming strategic cycle, which coincide with the last two years of the EU’s 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The European Commission is expected to remain committed to a “high level of ambition in supporting Gavi” as it prepares for the next MFF.
President von der Leyen reflected that “a healthier world is a better world”, with vaccination “one of our best chances for this”.
“Right now, millions of children are still at risk. We must continue to support vaccination around the world to save lives. So today I am proud to pledge 260 million euros for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. And more will come.”
DFC collaboration
The DFC and Gavi will expand their partnership with a focus on donor liquidity. This builds on support established during COVID-19, with the US$1 billion Rapid Financing Facility allowing Gavi to access funds quickly in the event of new donor pledges for pandemic response or routine immunisation. The mechanism is also central to Gavi’s Day Zero Financing Facility.
Nisha Biswal, DFC Deputy CEO, recognised that “global health security is economic and national security”. DFC invests in healthcare services, supply chains, and technology to strengthen pandemic preparedness and health system resilience, including over US$3 billion in health-related projects to enable over 50 million patients access healthcare.
“With the new Surge Financing Initiative, the expanded Gavi liquidity facility, and investments in regional manufacturing, we will be able to do far more to expand access to life-saving healthcare products, especially during health emergencies.”
Still on track
Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, expressed gratitude to the European Commission, recognising President von der Leyen’s “leadership in advancing global health outcomes” and DFC.
“Thanks to the European Commission and DFC, we remain on track to meet our target of protecting people, communities, even our entire world through immunisation.”
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