The Lancet
May 15, 2010  Volume 375 Number 9727  Pages 1665 – 1752
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Correspondence
GAVI’s funding challenge
Julian Lob-Levyt

Thanks to The Lancet for highlighting the funding challenge that the GAVI Alliance faces as we embark on our next decade of work (March 6, p 791).1 It is important to clarify that all of GAVI’s currently approved programmes are funded up to and including 2015. Such funding includes the existing support for pentavalent vaccine, which has already been introduced in 57 countries.

An important GAVI principle is to add value through long-term funding. Since the founding of the alliance in 2000, GAVI partners have increased immunisation rates to nearly 80% in developing countries, averted over 5 million deaths, and built a solid delivery platform that can now be used to introduce new life-saving vaccines against two of the world’s biggest childhood killers: pneumonia and diarrhoea. Herein lies our funding challenge. Only with increased donor support will we be able to expand further the effect on child mortality by immunising every poor child against these diseases.

Our donors share our ambition, as illustrated by the Gates Foundation’s dedication of US$10 billion to a “decade of vaccines”.2 As Swedish Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson herself said in a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “Sweden has been with GAVI from the beginning…I hope that other donors also see the good work that GAVI is doing.”3

1 Usher AD. GAVI enters its second decade with massive funding gap. Lancet 2010; 375: 791. Full Text | PDF(43KB) | CrossRef | PubMed

2 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill and Melinda Gates pledge $10 billion in call for decade of vaccines. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/decade-of-vaccines-wec-announcement-100129.aspx. (accessed April 7, 2010).

3 Davos 2010 Press Conference. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledges new commitment to vaccines. http://www.livestream.com/worldeconomicforum03/video?clipId=pla_0a5ad43d-be31-42e8-b924-79b5fd46885e. (accessed April 22, 2010).