Africa-Press – Rwanda. Rwanda has contributed $1million to Gavi, the global vaccine initiative, amid funding shortages caused by, among other factors, the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in February. The donation was announced during Gavi’s pledging summit on June 25 in Brussels, Belgium, as the institution welcomed donations from various state and non-state actors.
A number of world leaders pledged support for Gavi, leading to a total of more than US$ 9 billion secured against a targeted US$ 11.9 billion budget for its next five-year strategic period from 2026 to 2030 (Gavi 6.0). Additional donor commitments are expected in the coming months.
Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, the Minister of Health, said the country is committed to vaccination as a key tool for preventing diseases and ending outbreaks.
Rwanda’s Health minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana speaks at the health summit in Brussels on June 25.
Dr. Nsanzimana said: “Rwanda reaffirms our commitment to vaccines as one of the most impactful tools to prevent diseases, to end outbreaks, and to save lives. On behalf of his excellence, President Paul Kagame and the government of Rwanda, we pledge to support this replenishment with 1 million US dollars over the next five years.”
The summit also resulted in US$ 4.5 billion in complementary financing unlocked from development finance institutions, up to US$ 200 million in cost savings for Gavi-supported programmes announced by vaccine manufacturers, alongside other innovation and supply commitments that will further boost equitable access to critical vaccines.
The day’s commitments brought Gavi a major step closer to securing the resources it needs for Gavi 6.0, in which it hopes to protect 500 million children from preventable disease, averting between 8-9 million future deaths, protecting the world from deadly outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, mpox and Ebola through its vaccine stockpiles and unlocking US$ 100 billion in economic benefits for countries.
The summit was attended by representatives of 55 donor and implementing countries, including 10 heads of state and government and 24 ministers, as well as leaders from multilateral institutions, civil society, private sector and vaccine industry.
The European Commission pledged EUR 360 million, as part of a total pledge of more than EUR 2 billion from Team Europe – which includes the EU and its Member States – collectively the largest donor to Gavi.
At the Summit, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced an extension of its EUR 1 billion liquidity facility that can be accessed by any donor to facilitate their pledge, while Team Europe has already pledged nearly EUR 800 million for Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA) to support local vaccine manufacturing.
With Gavi’s implementing countries expected to invest a record US$ 4 billion towards their immunisation programmes over the coming five years, the Summit had strong representation from leaders pledging support and political commitment towards Gavi’s model of sustainable co-financing and secure supply through a diversified manufacturing base, including increased manufacturing capacity in Africa.
A panel at the event, which included Rwanda’s Health minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana (3rd right).
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