NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 3 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the world’s most vulnerable children by retaining its ambitious goal of vaccinating 500 million more children over the next five years, even as it faces mounting financial pressures and an increasingly volatile global health landscape.

📻 Breaking It Down

The commitment was announced following a two-day meeting of Gavi’s Board, which approved key decisions to guide the implementation of its 2026-2030 strategy, known as Gavi 6.0.

The strategy places renewed emphasis on country ownership, health security, support for fragile and humanitarian settings, and strengthening Africa’s vaccine manufacturing capacity.

Despite operating in what it described as a “financially constrained environment,” the Board maintained its ambitious targets of reaching 500 million additional children, preventing between 8 and 9 million deaths, reducing under-five mortality by a further 10 percent, and generating more than US$100 billion in economic benefits over the strategy period.

📌 What You Need to Know

“The achievements of the past five years show what is possible with sustained financial and political commitment to immunization,” said Gavi Board Chair Helen Clark.

“They also inspire us to tackle the difficult challenges that lay ahead: building resilience in the face of an increasing risk of outbreaks and pandemics and dismantling the systemic barriers that have prevented us from reaching the most vulnerable.”

The Board acknowledged that while Gavi exceeded most of its targets between 2020 and 2025, including expanding vaccine coverage, introducing new vaccines and strengthening vaccine markets, the Alliance fell short in reducing the number of zero-dose children and ensuring equitable access in underserved communities.

Those gaps have now become central priorities under the new strategy.

To help sustain its programmes amid funding uncertainties, the Board approved extending the European Investment Bank’s Frontloading Facility through the end of 2026, allowing Gavi to access up to €500 million, backed by donor commitments, to ensure uninterrupted delivery of immunization programmes.

A major feature of the new strategy is increased country ownership of vaccination programmes.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya