GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance

GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, is a global health partnership committed to increasing access to immunisation in poor countries. It brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and technical agencies, civil society, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

History

GAVI was launched in 2000 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided $750 million in seed money to establish the alliance. Since then, GAVI has helped to immunise over 760 million children, preventing over 13 million deaths worldwide.

Mission and Goals

GAVI’s mission is to save children’s lives and protect people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in poor countries. The alliance’s goals are to:

1. Accelerate the uptake and use of underused and new vaccines
2. Strengthen health systems to deliver immunisation and other health services in a sustainable manner
3. Improve the predictability and sustainability of long-term financing for national immunisation programmes
4. Shape vaccine markets to ensure adequate supply of appropriate, affordable vaccines

Funding

GAVI is funded by contributions from governments, corporations, foundations, and private individuals. The alliance has received over $15 billion in funding commitments since its inception. Major donors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway, and the European Union.

Vaccines and Immunisation Programmes

GAVI supports the immunisation of children with a range of vaccines, including those against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, measles, and yellow fever. The alliance also supports the development and introduction of new vaccines against diseases such as cervical cancer and malaria.

Impact

Since its establishment in 2000, GAVI has had a significant impact on global health. The alliance has helped to:

• Immunise over 760 million children
• Prevent over 13 million deaths
• Reduce the cost of vaccines for developing countries
• Strengthen health systems in developing countries
• Increase the sustainability of immunisation programmes

India and GAVI

India is a key partner of the GAVI Alliance, both as a recipient of support and as a supplier of vaccines. India has a large birth cohort and a high burden of vaccine-preventable diseases, making it a priority country for GAVI. Since 2001, GAVI has provided support to India for the introduction of new and underused vaccines, including hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), and rotavirus vaccine. GAVI has also supported the strengthening of India’s health system to improve the delivery of immunisation services.

With support from GAVI, India has made significant progress in increasing immunisation coverage. The country has introduced several new vaccines into its national immunisation programme, including PCV and rotavirus vaccine. As a result, immunisation coverage has increased from 56% in 2000 to 89% in 2021.

India is also a major supplier of vaccines to GAVI and the global market. The country has a strong vaccine manufacturing industry, with several companies producing vaccines prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO). India supplies a significant proportion of the vaccines procured by GAVI for use in other developing countries.

GAVI and Covid-19

GAVI Alliance has played a critical role in the global response to the pandemic, working to ensure that low- and middle-income countries have access to COVID-19 vaccines. In response to the pandemic, GAVI, along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), launched the COVAX Facility. COVAX is a global initiative aimed at ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries, regardless of their income level.

The COVAX Facility has two main components:

• The COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) which aims to provide access to donor-funded vaccines for 92 low- and middle-income countries.
• The COVAX Facility, which allows participating countries to access a portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines.

Through the COVAX Facility, GAVI has been working to procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines to participating countries. As of May 2023, COVAX has delivered over 1.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 145 countries.

GAVI has also been working to support the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, including through the COVAX Manufacturing Task Force. This task force aims to increase the supply of COVID-19 vaccines by supporting the development of new manufacturing capacity and the transfer of technology to developing countries.