Gavi’s core programming not impacted by US foreign aid freeze

Core programming for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance hasn’t been impacted by the Trump administration’s ongoing gutting of the United States Agency for International Development. Gavi — a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against infectious diseases — received some $300 million from the U.S. government last December. Last June, the Biden administration pledged at least $1.58 billion over the next five years to the organization. Gavi is amid its investment campaign to secure $9 billion from donors for its programming for 2026 to 2030. But there is some uncertainty about future U.S. payments to the partnership. It would expect to receive more funding from the U.S. in the third quarter of this year, but the U.S. Congress hasn’t yet finalized the federal budget for 2025. This is where Gavi’s contribution will be determined. “While we are very concerned by the cuts being made to global health, Gavi has always been able to draw on strong bipartisan support in the US, therefore we remain hopeful – given the importance immunisation plays in keeping everyone safe from infectious disease – that we will be able to continue to our partnership,” a Gavi spokesperson told Devex. This spokesperson added that it’s currently unclear what internal administrative processes will be involved in disbursing these congressional appropriations once they are finalized. The U.S. government has supported Gavi since its creation through direct financial contributions, participation in Gavi’s governance, and technical assistance, according to KFF, a source for health policy research. The organization said the U.S. is the third-largest contributor to Gavi and second-largest government contributor, providing 12% of funds overall. According to Gavi, it has vaccinated over 1 billion children since its creation in 2000 and has helped to cut in half child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. It provides vaccines against 20 infectious diseases, including Ebola, malaria, and rabies. But Gavi did receive one notice terminating a contract with USAID related to COVID-19, according to the spokesperson. The funds under this contract were disbursed in 2021 and used for COVID-19 related immunization, prevention, and response activities.