European Commission announces an extra €10 million to provide life-saving vaccines
Commissioner Piebalgs will announce new funding to help immunize millions of people against preventable diseases on Monday, 13 June.
During the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI) Conference in London, the Commissioner will announce the pledge towards the US$ 3.7 billion (or €2.6 billion) total which GAVI has said it needs to vaccinate nearly 250 million children over the next five years. This is expected to save almost 4 million lives.
This new funding will add to the more than half a billion Euro that the Commission spends on health in developing countries every year.
Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said: "It is shameful that in the 21st century, nearly 2 million children die each year from diseases which could be prevented by a simple vaccine. That's why I am pleased to announce our new commitment. We are also determined to support national health systems in the developing countries – this is the only way to create sustainable conditions for treating patients all over the world."
The European Commission has already pledged 20 million euros for GAVI between 2011 and 2013. This builds on its previous commitment of €220 million to support immunization programmes; €53.4 million of which was spent through the alliance. The additional money pledged will go towards vaccines for the two biggest childhood killers; pneumonia and diarrhoea, as well as for areas where vaccines are new or currently underused such as rubella, typhoid and meningitis.
On 5th April, Commissioner Piebalgs also met with Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to discuss how the Commission could work with the Gates Foundation to increase access to vaccines for some of the world's poorest people.
European Commission contribution to health
The European Commission spends more than half a billion Euro on health in developing countries every year. Much of this is direct support to effective health systems (human resources, medicines, vaccines) at country level, but this also includes the Commission's support to the Global Health Initiatives like GAVI or the Global Fund.
Health is also indirectly supported through general budget support linked to health targets, as well as the Commission's support to water and sanitation (as well as to other areas that are relevant to health).
The GAVI Alliance is a public-private partnership committed to saving children's lives through the use of vaccines. By the end of 2010, it is estimated that 300 million children across 72 countries will have been vaccinated thanks to GAVI support.
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