Earlier this week, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, managed to secure $7.54 billion in aid commitments for its work in the next five years. But many longstanding donors were curiously absent from Tuesday’s pledging table in Berlin, Germany.
As Devex reported ahead of the conference, Denmark didn’t pledge new funding for the public private partnership since its work no longer jives with the bilateral donor’s global health priorities.
But there were others: Brazil, which pledged $12 million previously, for instance, and Japan, which was present but didn’t make any immediate commitment; and a host of other investors.
The bulk of the pledges came from Gavi’s historically biggest funders: $2.34 billion from the United Kingdom, $1.553 billion from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, $1.02 billion from Norway and $800 million from the United States ($200 million of its pledged amount was for 2015).
France and Italy also made generous commitments of $524 million and $437 million, respectively, despite their suffering economies. Germany and Canada amped up their support — to $720 million and $451 million, from $73 million and $225 million, respectively.
But while these huge amounts garnered applause, it was the new players at the table that drew attention.
China made history when it joined others in supporting Gavi with an — admittedly meager — $5 million commitment. The emerging donor is the last of the BRICS countries to pledge support to the alliance. Russia, India and South Africa committed funding for 2011-15 and pledged to give $33 million, $1 million and $3 million, respectively, in the coming years.
Read more articles on the pledging conference:
● Yes we can: $7.5B Gavi goal reached in Berlin
● China makes first aid commitment to Gavi
● US to commit $1B to Gavi until 2018
Gulf states also made a show of support for Gavi: Oman ($3 million), Qatar ($10 million) and Saudi Arabia ($25 million). The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, however, didn’t renew a previous pledge of $33 million.
The test now is how fast can donors deliver on their commitments and how swiftly can Gavi put the money into action — also to avoid currency fluctuations that have cost the alliance millions of dollars in the past years.
What’s your take on this week’s Gavi pledges? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Read more international development news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive the latest from the world’s leading donors and decision-makers — emailed to you FREE every business day.
