PREVIEW
US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr has criticised a key Gavi vaccine
Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, secured most of the funding it needs for its next five years of operations at a pledging summit in Brussels on 25 June, though nothing was forthcoming from a critical United States.
Ahead of the summit, Gavi’s officials had been anxious that they would not be able to obtain new donors to offset expected cuts in funding from the United Kingdom and US (AC Vol 66 No 13, Gavi vaccine summit seeks a shot in the arm). However, a US$1.6 billion pledge from the Gates Foundation and a larger than expected $1.7bn from the UK formed the core of more than $9bn in pledges. Gavi officials say that they require a total of $11.9bn for 2026-30.
Officials also agreed a mechanism, developed with the European Investment Bank and the Gates Foundation, that will guarantee the purchase of at least €100 million of medical supplies from developing countries, primarily in Africa, as part of broader efforts to increase their manufacturing capacity. Similarly, Gavi and the UN Children's Fund (Unicef), have also committed to procure up to 20% of vaccines from African producers. Additionally, they are moving closer to concluding a raft of technology transfer agreements that would allow African manufacturers to make generic vaccines, another key priority for the continent and the African Union (AC Vol 65 No 19, Vaccine shortfall risks spread of deadly new mpox strain).
However, the gathering pointed to the growing isolationism of US President Donald Trump’s administration. In a video address, Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. confirmed that the US would halt its contributions, and criticised the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis immunisation used by Gavi, which he claimed was linked in a 2017 study to higher infant mortality in girls.
The study he highlighted regarding the vaccine has been refuted by other research and dismissed by multiple health professionals as a conspiracy theory. In a statement, Gavi said that it ‘continues to have full confidence’ in it. Ahead of the summit, Gavi officials briefed that raising $9bn would protect 500 million children and save over eight million lives between 2026 and 2030.
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