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From the Media: Understanding the Importance of Gavi

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From the Media: Understanding the Importance of Gavi
April 24, 2025

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Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, was founded in 2000 with the ambitious goal to save lives and protect people’s health by increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines. Now, Gavi helps vaccinate more than half of the world’s children.

Both countries and philanthropies donate to its budget, and these funds allow individual countries to purchase vaccines at a negotiated, affordable rate from manufacturers and maintain in-country supply chains. Countries contribute a share of the vaccine costs as they are able. At the end of March 2025, multiple news outlets reported a potential grant cut of approximately $1 billion from the United States. Since its inception, the United States has contributed about 13% of Gavi’s funding. 

Through this program, Gavi has 

  • Vaccinated 1.1 billion children against infectious diseases
  • Prevented an estimated more than 18.8 million deaths
  • Generated more than $250 billion in economic benefits by saving healthcare costs, lost wages and lost productivity

While conversations continue between Gavi and the U.S. government, it's important to recognize that maintaining support for Gavi is not just about the health of children in individual countries — it’s about global health. Infectious disease outbreaks don’t respect borders. Measles, polio and Ebola are just a plane ride away and can quickly become costly crises. Protecting access to vaccines must continue to be a collective priority.

Read more about Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance and review some of the media coverage related to the impact of the potential funding cuts:

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