GAVI Watch [to 24 January 2015]
http://www.gavialliance.org/library/news/press-releases/

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:: Half a billion children vaccinated and seven million lives saved thanks to Gavi partners
Global health milestone announced days ahead of major replenishment meeting
Davos, 22 January 2015 – New figures released today by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance show that half a billion children have been reached with lifesaving vaccines in the 15 years since the organisation was founded.

The figures also reveal that the number of deaths averted through Gavi-supported immunisation programmes now tops seven million.

Gavi CEO Dr Seth Berkley announced the figures during a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos – the place where Gavi was born in 2000 – just days ahead of a major event to be hosted in Berlin which is looking to raise billions of dollars to ensure Gavi Is fully funded between 2016 and 2020.

“Quite simply, no other intervention touches so many lives,” said Dr Berkley. “More and more children are being reached with new and effective vaccines and we are seeing children growing up who simply would not be alive and healthy today if they had not been protected through immunisation. We are proud of this milestone but we want to go further and immunise a further 300 million children against life-threatening diseases between 2016 and 2020. We believe we can defeat vaccine-preventable illness, further preventing child death and helping communities lift themselves out of poverty…

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:: New private sector partners bring technical expertise and innovative finance to help save children’s lives
Gavi to leverage corporate patent royalties and local knowledge to improve vaccine delivery and injection safety in poor countries
Davos, 21 January 2015 – A collaboration of private sector organisations with global supply chain and injection safety expertise has partnered with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to support children’s health in 73 of the poorest countries. Strong vaccine supply chains, which ensure vaccines get from production lines to children who need them, and injection safety are important factors in increasing vaccination coverage, maintaining vaccine confidence and improving child health in poor countries.

The three-year partnership between Gavi and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW), a global association of pharmaceutical wholesalers focused on the storage and delivery of medicines, will bolster regional supply chain training centres in Benin and Rwanda, serving multiple countries in Africa.

Vaccines are temperature sensitive, and the infrastructure in poor countries often is lacking. Partnerships, such as this one with IFPW … are bringing new thinking and resources to help the Vaccine Alliance reach every child.

IFPW, whose members include Walgreens Boots Alliance and McKesson-Celesio, will provide a package of support, including US$ 1.5 million in cash and member expertise to ensure that aspiring students in Gavi-supported countries receive the training needed to become the next generation of supply chain managers.
“IFPW and its partners are, by nature, experts in managing healthcare supply chains and cold chains such as those required for proper vaccine handling,” explained Ornella Barra, Executive Vice President of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Chief Executive of Global Wholesale and International Retail. “We look forward to sharing our industry’s knowledge, expertise and resources with Gavi and its partners to strengthen developing countries’ medical supply chains and to improve the availability of and access to vaccines for the children who need them.”…

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:: IFFIm’s debut Sukuk awarded ‘Social Impact Deal of the Year 2014’
13 January 2015 Islamic Finance News also awards IFFIm honourable mention in category of ‘Sukuk Deal of the Year’.

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Global Statement on Gavi Replenishment: Potential funding shortfall if donors don’t step up
Results | 20 January 2015
A number of NGOs and CSOs issued a joint statement in support of the Gavi replenishment goals. The statement signed by: ACTION Global Health Advocacy Partnership, Save the Children, ONE, Global Poverty Project, BRAC, WorldVision and the Gavi Civil Society Steering Committee, RESULTS Australia, RESULTS Canada, Global Health Advocates (France), CORE Group Partners Project (India), Health Education and Literacy Programme, Pakistan Civil Society Coalition Network for Health and Immunization, Asociación Mexicana de Vacunología, IMA World Health and American Cancer Society, Alternative Santé Cameroon, CCAM Cameroon, PROVARESSC Cameroun.