Q&A: Gavi alliance talks immunising 300 million people

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has initiated a $7.4bn fundraising drive to support the immunisation of 300 million children against 18 diseases, which they say could save up to eight million lives between 2021 and 2025. Abi Millar spoke to MD Aurelia Nguyen to find out more.

Since Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, was launched in 2000, it has played a major role in immunisation efforts across the developing world. Working with governments and the private sector, it works to improve childhood immunisation coverage and accelerate access to new vaccines.

In August, Gavi launched its latest fundraising drive, which will support new vaccine programmes for the years 2021-25. Billed as the ‘most comprehensive and cost-effective preventative health package in history’, the investment will be used to deliver over 3.2 billion doses of life-saving vaccines to 55 eligible countries. Aurelia Nguyen, Gavi’s managing director for vaccines and sustainability, explains how this will work.

Abi Millar: Gavi, a Vaccine Alliance, recently launched a major fundraising drive, with a view to raising $7.4bn. How do you intend to raise these funds and who are your primary donors likely to be?

Aurelia Nguyen: We’re entering quite an exciting period, which will culminate in a replenishment event in London in June 2020. The $7.4bn we’re looking for will be from a combination of contributions – we have government donors and sovereign entities, we have foundations and regional funds, and we also have partnerships with the private sector. Another important part is the contributions we have through innovative financing mechanisms, such as the International Finance Facility for Immunisation.

In this upcoming replenishment, of course we’re going to be making a case to our current donors, but we’re also very interested in reaching out and diversifying our donor base, whether they be sovereign donors or the private sector.

Read the rest of this article in the December 2019 edition of Pharma Technology Focus