The reported decision that the US government will end its support for Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance – which was set up 20 years ago to increase access to vaccines for the world’s poorest countries—will have devastating consequences for children across the globe, said Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
While there is still space for progress, routine vaccination coverage for children has improved since Gavi was established in 2000. Gavi is estimated to have saved the lives of 17 million children over the last 25 years. However, as reported by the New York Times today, and per Gavi’s own estimates, the loss of US support to Gavi is projected to deny approximately 75 million children routine vaccinations in the next five years, with more than 1.2 million children potentially dying as a result.
For more than 50 years, MSF has been vaccinating children who live in some of the world’s hardest-to-reach areas, including war zones, refugee camps, and rural areas cut off from health care. This decision will risk leaving these children unprotected. While MSF does not accept US government or Gavi funding and will not be directly affected by cuts or freezes to the program, more than half of the vaccines MSF uses in its projects come from ministries of health and are procured through Gavi.
Dr. Carrie Teicher, chief programs officer at MSF USA, said:
“The US government’s decision to end its support for Gavi threatens to undermine progress made over the last 25 years and will leave even more children all around the world vulnerable to deadly preventable diseases like measles, pneumonia, and diphtheria.
“The consequences of this political decision will be catastrophic.
“Vaccines are one of the most important and cost-effective lifesaving medical tools available. The US is one of the biggest funders of Gavi—contributing about 13 per cent of Gavi’s budget—and any interruption of this funding will result in fewer vaccines in the arms of children.
“Ending support for Gavi will needlessly hurt children and undermine health systems around the world that rely on Gavi for vaccines.
“Far too many children already miss out on their routine vaccinations. Even with frequent routine and emergency vaccination efforts, we continue to see children fall ill during outbreaks of preventable diseases like diphtheria in Nigeria and measles in South Sudan—outbreaks that could be curbed and lives that could be saved if more children were vaccinated.
“Vaccine coverage is only now getting back on track following disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Undermining immunisation at this critical time would prove devastating.
“What makes matters worse is the fact that the US has broadly cut foreign assistance, which leaves the many children who will now get sick from vaccine-preventable diseases with even fewer options for medical care than they had before.
“Resuming full funding for Gavi and other critical health and humanitarian efforts isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a smart investment in global stability, and a healthier future for millions of children.”
Reported by allAfrica
