Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening has announced that the UK Government will pledge up to £1 billion to the next replenishment of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, if the $7.5 billion funding target is reached.

Responding, Diane Sheard, UK Director of The ONE Campaign, said:

“The British Government has made a very important pledge to Gavi that will vaccinate millions of children and save 1.4 million lives in the coming years.

“We’re now closer than we’ve ever been to defeating preventable childhood diseases. However, we’re not there yet and it’s crucial that we don’t let up in our support of this life-saving fund.

“It’s now up to every major government, including the UK, to ensure that Gavi meets it target in full when leaders gather in Berlin in January. With millions of lives at stake, there can be no excuse for falling short.”  

ENDS

Notes to Editors: Gavi is an international organisation – a global Vaccine Alliance, bringing together public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. For more information about Gavi please go to www.gavi.org . The Gavi replenishment conference takes place in Berlin on January 27, 2015.