Africa-Press – Angola. The president of the Global Alliance for Vaccines (Gavi), Durão Barroso, on Wednesday in Brussels appealed to the international community to prioritize child immunization as a central strategy to ensure a healthy future for billions of children by 2030.
Speaking at the Gavi Global Summit, which outlined the organization’s strategic outlook for 2026-2030, Durão Barroso said vaccination remains the “most effective” public health intervention.
The event brought together global leaders, heads of state, and representatives of multilateral organizations, including the President of Angola and acting President of the African Union, João Lourenço.
“In a time of geopolitical tensions, economic crises, and fiscal challenges, there is no future without children, and immunization is the most viable way to ensure that each of them has a start in life free from preventable diseases,” said the Gavi president.
During his speech, Durão Barroso thanked the European Union, the United States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other international partners for their continued support, making special reference to the presence of President João Lourenço as a symbol of Africa’s commitment to global health.
“We are united here by something that transcends borders, generations, and ideologies: a commitment to future generations,” he said.
Recognizing the budgetary constraints and political pressures faced by many countries, Barroso reinforced the urgency of keeping vaccination as an absolute priority.
“Our mission is humanitarian, but it is also a security mission. Global health must be treated with the same rigor with which we face other global threats,” Barroso said.
Since its founding in 2000, Gavi has supported the immunization of more than 1 billion children, preventing an estimated 90 million deaths in low- and middle-income countries.
Based on these results, Durão Barroso reiterated the organization’s commitment to being “more agile, more efficient, and increasingly focused on the priorities of the countries it serves.”
He also highlighted the economic benefits of vaccination, which already exceed $250 billion, and highlighted the example of countries that, after benefiting from Gavi’s support, are now also donors to the alliance.
The summit, co-organized by the European Union and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, marks the beginning of Gavi’s replenishment process for the new 2026-2030 cycle.
Under the motto “Global Summit: Health and Prosperity through Immunization,” the meeting brought together heads of state, leaders of multilateral organizations, international donors, and representatives of civil society.
For the next cycle, Gavi has set a goal of vaccinating 500 million children, saving more than eight million lives, responding to 150 outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, and generating more than 100 billion US dollars in global economic benefits.
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