This archive report was first published on 4 June 2020.
On Thursday, a historic Global Vaccine Summit is set to take place, bringing together leaders from 35 countries, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, to raise funds for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The summit, hosted virtually by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, aims to raise at least $7.4 billion (approximately KES 980 billion) to immunize a further 300 million children in the world's poorest countries by 2025.
According to the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Jane Marriott, the funding is crucial in protecting children from deadly diseases like polio, diphtheria, and measles, and saving up to 8 million lives. The funding will also help ensure the global recovery from coronavirus.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged nations to pledge funding for vaccinations, stating, “I hope this summit will be the moment when the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against disease. I urge you to join us to fortify this lifesaving alliance and inaugurate a new era of global health co-operation, which I believe is now the most essential shared endeavour of our lifetimes.”
CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr. Seth Berkley emphasized the importance of the summit, saying, “Over the past two decades, we have witnessed incredible progress boosting vaccine coverage in the world's poorest countries. However, these historic advances in global health are now at risk of unravelling as COVID-19 causes unprecedented disruption to vaccine programmes worldwide. We face the very real prospect of a global resurgence of diseases like measles, polio, and yellow fever, which would put us all at risk.”
The UK is the largest supporter of Gavi to date, with International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan recently announcing the UK's £1.65 billion (KES 218 billion) pledge, which will immunize up to 75 million children.
