The UK today (4 June) organised the Global Vaccine Summit 2020,
helping secure US$7.4 billion (approximately £6 billion) in
funding to support global vaccine supply and immunisation. The
virtual event saw representatives of more than 50 countries -
business leaders, UN agencies, civil society, government
ministers, Heads of State and country leaders, including Prime
Minister Modi - pledge their support to Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance, in its commitment to help save up to 8 million lives
over the next five years.
Gavi’s routine immunisation efforts, including during the course
of the coronavirus pandemic, help stop the spread of infectious
diseases and the resurgence of other epidemics. If a safe and
effective coronavirus vaccine is developed, it will also have a
role in its delivery around the world. Global access will ensure
a collective international recovery.
Prime Minister said:
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.
Jan Thompson, Acting High Commissioner to India, said:
I was pleased to see such a strong endorsement from Prime
Minister Modi at today’s Summit, and to hear his message about
the importance of global solidarity. As he said, India’s
capacity to produce vaccines at low cost and research expertise
will play a very important role.
The UK is Gavi’s leading donor and already playing a major role
in the international response to Coronavirus. I’m delighted to
see the continuing and excellent UK-India collaboration as a
force for good against Covid-19 – from vaccine development to
keeping essential medical supply routes open.
Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance has immunised over 760 million children in the
world’s poorest countries, saving more than 13 million lives. It
holds a Pledging Conference every five years to raise funds for
its next strategic period; today’s summit secured funding for
2021-2025.
The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000 and is its
largest donor, with a pledge of £1.65 billion for the next five
years. The Global Vaccine Summit 2020 builds on the UK’s recent
role as co-lead for the Global Coronavirus Response Initiative on
4 May, which successfully raised 7.4 billion euros (approximately
£6.64 billion) toward vaccines, tests and treatment to tackle
coronavirus. As part of global effort to find a coronavirus
vaccine, the UK is also the single largest donor country to the
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations’ urgent appeal.
UK – India collaboration around a possible coronavirus vaccine
includes:
- A consortium comprising Serum Institute, Gates Foundation,
MIT, and Spy Biotech (a UK based biotech company) is trying to
develop a vaccine using the new spy-tag vaccine development
technology.
- Oxford Nanopore is working with some of India’s most renowned
scientific institutions to focus on rapid analysis of coronavirus
samples.
- A long-term Merck and Wellcome Trust venture on vaccine
research, policy and manufacturing will be based in Delhi.
