PM: Humanity Must Unite in the Fight Against Disease
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host the Global Vaccine Summit
virtually today More than 50 countries and organisations will
come together to secure funding for Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance Summit aims to raise at least $7.4bn (approx. £6bn)
to immunise a further 300 million children in world’s poorest
countries by 2025 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will
today (Thursday 4 June) open the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit
and urge...Request free trial
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today (Thursday 4 June)
open the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit and urge nations to
pledge funding for vaccinations to save millions of lives in the
poorest countries and protect the world from future outbreaks of
infectious diseases.
Representatives of over 50 countries,
including at least 35 heads of state or government, as well as
leaders of private sector organisations and civil society, will
come together to raise funds for Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance.
The summit aims to raise at least $7.4
billion (approx. £6 billion)
for Gavi to immunise a further 300 million children in the
world’s poorest countries by 2025.
This vital funding will not only protect
children from deadly diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles
and save up to 8 million lives, but will also help ensure our
global recovery from coronavirus.
By vaccinating millions of children against
these other deadly diseases, we are protecting healthcare systems
in the world’s poorest countries so they can cope with rising
coronavirus cases.
Health experts have warned that if the virus
is left to spread in developing countries, this could lead to
future waves of infection reaching the UK.
Addressing attendees as he opens
today’s summit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will
say:
“I hope this summit will be the moment when
the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against
disease.
“Just as the UK is the single biggest donor
to the international effort to find a coronavirus vaccine, we
will remain the world’s leading donor to Gavi, contributing £1.65
billion over the next five years.
“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.”
People who are vaccinated protect themselves
and the rest of the population by lowering the spread and risk of
infection. When children are immunised against measles, typhoid
and polio, it prevents outbreaks of these infectious diseases at
a time when many countries are struggling to deal with the
coronavirus pandemic.
As the world focuses on tackling
coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Gavi
have warned that the pandemic is disrupting routine immunisation,
affecting approximately 80 million children under the age of 1
across 68 countries.
The Prime Minister will also be joined by
Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,
and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Gavi
Board.
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 pledge - funding which will immunise up to
75 million children.
International Development Secretary
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who will also take
part in today’s summit, said:
“The world is quite rightly focusing on
responding to the invisible killer that is coronavirus. But we
cannot allow this pandemic to disrupt routine immunisation in
some of the world’s poorest countries and cause other deadly
diseases to spread across the globe.
“We know vaccines work, which is why at
today’s summit we need others to step up and pledge funds to
Gavi, so it can continue to save the lives of millions of
children and protect everyone from infectious
diseases.”
At the summit the Presidents of Burkina
Faso, Ethiopia and Bangladesh will explain how Gavi’s support has
helped save lives in their countries and strengthened the
resilience of their healthcare systems against major disease
outbreaks.
Health workers will speak about their
experiences on the frontline, such as immunising people in the
Democratic Republic of Congo against Ebola.
CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Dr
Seth Berkley said:
“Over the past two decades we have witnessed
incredible progress boosting vaccine coverage in the world’s
poorest countries: more children in more countries are now
protected against more diseases than at any point in
history.
“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.
“That’s why today’s Global Vaccine Summit is
so important, bringing together leaders from around the world –
led by the UK – to build global health security and keep us all
safe from further outbreaks.”
Gavi, with UK support, is addressing the
immediate needs triggered by coronavirus, including providing
essential medical supplies and helping to increase testing and
surveillance of the disease.
As part of the global effort to find a
coronavirus vaccine, the UK is also the single largest donor of
any country to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness
Innovations’ (CEPI) urgent appeal.
If a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine
is developed, Gavi will have a role in its delivery around the
world. Global access will ensure a collective international
recovery and reduce the risk of future waves of infection, which
could come to the UK.
Notes to editors:
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