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Euronews
6 days ago
- Health
- Euronews
Europe leads global vaccine effort as US pulls back
At a high-level pledging event in Brussels on Thursday, the GAVI Vaccine Alliance rallied international donors to fund its next five-year programme. So far, GAVI has secured over €7.7 billion – still short of its overall target, though more pledges are expected in the coming weeks. "What's at stake is the lives of millions and millions of children. And I think there is nothing more important in the world than the lives of millions of children," GAVI Chairman José Manuel Barroso told Euronews in an interview. 'It makes a difference if they get immunisation, if they get vaccines or not. Because if they don't get them, they will die from perfectly preventable diseases," he added. GAVI, launched in 2000, is a global health partnership aimed at improving vaccine access in the world's poorest countries. Since its inception, the alliance has helped vaccinate over one billion children and is estimated to have saved 19 million lives. Now, it aims to reach 500 million more by 2030. Supporters say vaccine investments offer a strong return – up to $54 for every dollar spent – through reduced healthcare costs and increased economic productivity. Europe Leads the Charge European nations were among the most prominent backers at the Brussels event. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged €130 million, 30% more than the country's previous commitment. 'Spain is ready to take a step forward when others are backing down,' he said. The European Commission also reaffirmed its support with a €360 million pledge, bringing the total 'Team Europe' commitment — combining EU institutions and member states — to more than €2 billion. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed GAVI and UNICEF's commitment to procure up to 20% of vaccines in their programmes from African producers. 'Together we can ensure that vaccines are not only available to Africa, but increasingly made in Africa,' she said at the event, mentioning that Europe is also the largest contributor to the Africa vaccine manufacturing accelerator. The United Kingdom emerged as the single largest donor, committing £1.25 billion. 'Where others are stepping back, we in the United Kingdom are stepping up,' said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. 'This will help immunise over 60 million children, saving an estimated 1.25 million lives.' United States pulls out In a stark contrast to past years, the United States — historically a major donor to GAVI — announced it would no longer provide funding, as part of a broader reduction in international aid under President Donald Trump's administration. 'There is much I admire about GAVI,' said US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a video message. 'Unfortunately, in its zeal to promote universal vaccination, it has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety.' Kennedy, a known vaccine sceptic, specifically raised concerns about the DTP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis), a widely used childhood immunisation. GAVI responded by reaffirming its "full confidence" in the DTP vaccine, citing decades of rigorous safety monitoring. Barroso, in a separate interview prior to Kennedy's statement, maintained an optimistic tone about future collaboration with the US administration. However, he also denounced vaccine disinformation campaigns fuelled by conspiracy theories and social media. 'People, sometimes, like to accept these kinds of fantasies,' he said. As Barroso concluded, the global data on vaccination impact is indisputable: countries with sustained immunisation programmes have seen drastically lower child mortality rates. Preventable diseases like polio, once widespread, have nearly disappeared in these regions. "Vaccines save lives and that's hard evidence," he said.
Egypt Today
22-05-2025
- Health
- Egypt Today
Egypt's Health Min., GAVI chairman talk expanding vaccine manufacturing
Vaccines - file CAIRO - 22 May 2025: Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, met with Mr. José Manuel Barroso, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), and a number of GAVI representatives, to discuss implementing mechanisms that contribute to expanding vaccine manufacturing. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, said in a statement released by the ministry that the meeting aimed to exchange ideas and visions on implementing policies that would expand the promotion of vaccine manufacturing in Egypt and African countries, as well as to discuss mechanisms for expanding vaccination and primary healthcare services. He added that the two sides discussed cooperation to enhance expanded immunization programs, as well as exchanging ideas to improve primary healthcare systems. They also agreed to cooperate between Egypt and Gavi to ensure equitable access to vaccinations in Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region. The meeting was attended by Dr. Amr Kandil, Deputy Minister of Health and Population; Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (Gavi); and Dr. Richard Mihigo, Director of Programmatic and Strategic Engagement with the African Union and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Cut to Gavi's funding to impact our ability to protect children: Professor José Manuel Barroso
Professor José Manuel Barroso, chair of the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, spoke to HT about his India visit and the nature of India-Gavi partnership. He also looked back at Gavi's 25-year-old journey; and the changes he foresees in Gavi's role in helping countries in the future; and the impact of US threatening to pull out as a contributor. What was the agenda behind your recent India visit? My recent visit to India reinforced the strong Gavi-India partnership and celebrated immunization progress since 2002. The current India-Gavi partnership represents a strong example of immunization collaboration within Gavi-supported countries. We are developing a roadmap for our collaboration beyond 2026, shifting towards targeted technical assistance, innovation partnerships, and knowledge sharing as India strengthens its global health leadership and Gavi donor role. Also, as part of our strategic partnership we will be supporting the Government of India to roll-out the HPV vaccine, in a push to eliminate cervical cancer in the country. How would you rate Gavi's journey so far? Over the past 25 years, Gavi has been highly impactful, immunizing over 1.1 billion children, preventing 18.8 million deaths, and halving child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. We also bolster global health security through health system support and vaccine stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. Our model relies on co-financing, with countries progressively contributing to their vaccine costs. We aim to expand our impact in the 2026-2030 period, protecting more people against more diseases faster. How easy or difficult is it to sustain multilateral partnerships given Gavi is all about public-private global partnerships? Maintaining political engagement and alignment across our diverse partners — governments, international organizations, manufacturers, civil society, and the private sector — is crucial for long-term sustainability, especially amid a complex funding environment. What impact do you see of US pulling out as a contributor on Gavi's functioning? While Gavi has not received any official notification regarding changes in US funding, recent reports are certainly extremely concerning. The US has been a long-standing partner with strong bipartisan support for over 25 years, including during the previous administration, and Congress recently approved $300 million for Gavi in the FY 2025 budget. Any cut to Gavi's funding would have a devastating impact on our ability to protect children and keep our world safe. Gavi operates as an incredibly lean and efficient organisation, spending 97 cents of every dollar directly on life-saving programmes and delivering an estimated return of $54 in broader economic benefits for every $1 invested. If you could specifically talk about some of the projects/initiatives that are likely to get disrupted. The US currently contributes roughly 15% of Gavi's funding. A cut of this magnitude could translate, in rough terms, to 75 million fewer children protected during our 2026-2030 strategic period, leading potentially to 1.3 million more deaths from preventable illnesses. It would directly and negatively impact our capacity to protect the world against infectious disease threats through our global vaccine stockpiles (covering diseases like Ebola, cholera, meningitis, yellow fever) and our emergency response funds, which have proven crucial in recent events like the mpox outbreak. Are there any alternatives that Gavi members are looking at to meet the overall funding requirement? Gavi is focused on securing its target of at least $ 9 billion for the 2026-2030 period through contributions from its diverse range of partners. However, we recognize the current global funding environment is very complex and constrained. We have a broad base of sovereign donors, foundations, and private sector partners. Critically, implementing countries themselves are co-financing vaccine programmes at increasing levels, contributing nearly half of the costs in the upcoming strategic period. So far, 19 countries have already graduated entirely from Gavi support, and some, like India and Indonesia, have transitioned to become Gavi donors. Given this broad existing base and the significant contributions already being made by implementing countries, it would be extremely difficult for other partners to make up a major shortfall should one occur. Going forward, do you see any changes in the role that Gavi will be playing while helping needy countries? Doing more, faster; enhanced health security (expanding stockpiles (such as adding mpox, in addition to Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines); addressing climate change (nearly half our vaccine portfolio addresses diseases sensitive to climate shifts); tailored support (Adapting our support for countries as they develop); and leveraging innovation (Continuing to embrace AI, predictive analytics, and digital tools).
