Countries pledge $4.3bn in funding for child vaccines

[Technologic]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13751809

Countries have pledged an unprecedented $4.3bn to help vaccinate children against preventable diseases like pneumonia.

The Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation says this funding milestone will save more than four million lives in the next four years.

The donations exceeded expectations - GAVI asked for $3.7bn (£2.3bn).

The UK promised $1.3bn (£814m), and Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates said he would give $1bn to the campaign.

Other donatons announced at the London summit included $677m from Norway and $450m from the US.

Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and The Netherlands also promised to contribute.

The UK has already committed more than any other nation - £2bn over 30 years.

The extra £814m comes on top of the UK's existing commitment of £680m between 2011 and 2015.

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The cost-effectiveness of immunisation is likely to be one of many arguments put forward at the conference ”

Fergus Walsh
Medical correspondent, BBC News
Surviving childhood in Sierra Leone
'A promise'
Prime Minister David Cameron said there was a "strong moral case" for keeping pledges Britain had made to the developing world, no matter the economic circumstances at home.

"Today we come together because we have the chance to save another four million lives."

He said the idea of children dying from pneumonia and diarrhoea should be "unthinkable" in 2011.

"To those who say fine but we should put off seeing through those promises to another day because right now we can't afford to help: I say - we can't afford to wait."

Two million under-fives die from pneumonia alone each year despite the existence of a vaccine to protect them.


It is estimated that three times as many children aged under five die from pneumonia and diarrhoea than from malaria and HIV/Aids combined, despite new vaccines being available to help prevent such deaths. However, many developing countries cannot afford them.

'Make-or-break'
Drugs company GlaxoSmithKline last week agreed to sell a vaccine for diarrhoeal disease at cost price to poorer nations, and some other firms have since made similar moves.

GAVI has already rolled out a range of vaccines to children in 72 countries but the organisation says it needs the extra money to vaccinate even more children against pneumococcal disease and rotavirus.



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Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates: "In the achievement of vaccine equality this is a very important day"
Resources will also be spent on trying to reach millions of the poorest children who are missing out on basic vaccines against diseases such as measles, whooping cough and tetanus.

GAVI is a health partnership of governments, businesses, and bodies including the World Bank, Unicef and Mr Gates' personal foundation.

The philanthropist Mr Gates said: "I just want to thank everybody for this incredible milestone. Four hours is a long time but if you can save four million lives in four hours it's well worth every minute.

"For the first time in history, children in developing countries will receive the same vaccines against diarrhea and pneumonia as children in rich countries."

Frankly I am proud to live in a country that contributes so much to the poor. You may all moan about spending cuts, how we are all unemployed, cuts to the NHS etc etc but our standards of living are still 100000x better than the people in the countries being helped.

[dbgtz]

I don't really understand why were paying more then the USA and for that amount of money 4 million lives doesn't seem like very much. I mean everyone counts but how expensive are these vaccines? And alls good for charity but charity starts at home, you know with the NHS and getting that sorted properly considering people are still not getting their operations and treatments.

This kind of thing pisses me off in ways, but I kind of agree with you aswell. I guess I have a mixed opinion but if it was my decision, I would be giving something on par with the USA.

[Agnostic Bear]

I don't really understand why were paying more then the USA

Their citizens pay for their own healthcare.

[Firehorse]

It's all a load of bull in my opinion. We're giving away money we don't have, and whats more we're giving away money we just cut from our own lives. What is a single vaccine program going to do in LEDCs? It will lessen the impact of a single problem such as Malaria or whatever they're treating for. It doesn't improve the status of the country, it doesn't improve their living conditions. If anything it means people will just live longer uncomfortable lives rather than shorter ones.

I totally agree with being charitable to the needy, but this is not sustainable at all and is a complete waste of money.

I don't really understand why were paying more then the USA and for that amount of money 4 million lives doesn't seem like very much. I mean everyone counts but how expensive are these vaccines? And alls good for charity but charity starts at home, you know with the NHS and getting that sorted properly considering people are still not getting their operations and treatments.

Because the UK is trying to look big amoung other countries by having more money to spare, even though it doesn't.

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13751809

Frankly I am proud to live in a country that contributes so much to the poor. You may all moan about spending cuts, how we are all unemployed, cuts to the NHS etc etc but our standards of living are still 100000x better than the people in the countries being helped.

Why don't you pay yourself then? why force others who are less well off to pay for your pet causes? why is it that people such as yourself, David Cameron and others feel you have to force people who are less well off than you in order to pay for what you feel is right and what you feel is moral. Here's an idea, scrap the foreign aid department fully and make all aid based on voluntary donations - then we can see how much aid you yourself feel like giving per month Technologic along with Mr Cameron, and you can give poor people here and the people of this country in general a well deserved break from spending their money of which you have no right to.

"Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul

I would also add, not only is forcing people to give immoral adding to the debts of this country (of which we borrow from China, to give to Africa, who then either stash it away or spend it on guns from China leaving us with the bill) but that billions in aid go missing all the time or are simply wasted. A story is out today (RussiaToday are the only ones covering it on television) where £6bn of U.S. aid for Iraq has vanished.

Where do you think the likes of Mugabe and Murbarak get their money from? the west, thats where.

[jam666]

A simple nine word sentance sums up what I think of this issue.

Get them out of poverty through trade not aid.

[-:Undertaker:-]

A simple nine word sentance sums up what I think of this issue.

Get them out of poverty through trade not aid.

Indeed, there's a catch though - can't do that unless we leave the EU!

[StefanWolves]

Why don't you pay yourself then? why force others who are less well off to pay for your pet causes? why is it that people such as yourself, David Cameron and others feel you have to force people who are less well off than you in order to pay for what you feel is right and what you feel is moral. Here's an idea, scrap the foreign aid department fully and make all aid based on voluntary donations - then we can see how much aid you yourself feel like giving per month Technologic along with Mr Cameron, and you can give poor people here and the people of this country in general a well deserved break from spending their money of which you have no right to.

I never normally agree with you, but on this i think youre spot on