UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 27
May 2009 - The World Bank made an important
decision last month to provide a financial platform for the GAVI Alliance’s
Advance Market Commitment (AMC) that aims to stimulate the development and
manufacture of affordable vaccines tailored to the needs of developing
countries and thus funds from the Governments of Italy, the United Kingdom,
Canada, Norway, and Russia, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, that total US$1.5 billion have been committed to a pilot AMC
against pneumococcal disease.
A major cause of pneumonia and
meningitis, pneumococcal kills approximately 1.6 million people every year.
"The World Bank’s financial
backing is a major contribution to the AMC effort," said Dr. Lob-Levyt.
"The decision by the Board of Executive Directors takes us one step
closer to a pilot AMC, which will get life-saving pneumococcal vaccines to the
children who need them most. We look forward to implementing this pilot over
the coming months."
The decision means donor
contributions for the pilot AMC will be placed on the balance sheet of the
Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The
IBRD will provide standard financial management and administrative services
regarding donor contributions, AMC commitments, and disbursements.
Through the AMC mechanism, donors
commit money to guarantee the price of vaccines once they have been developed,
thus creating the potential for a viable future market.
These commitments provide vaccine
makers with the incentive to invest the considerable sums required to conduct
research and build manufacturing capacity.
Companies that participate in an AMC
make legally binding commitments to supply the vaccines at lower and
sustainable prices after donor funds made available for the initial fixed
price are spent.
The donor funds are not provided
until the proposed vaccines have met stringent, pre-agreed technical criteria
and developing countries request them.
"The AMC pilot represents the
first step in an historic effort to create a market for life-saving vaccines
for children in the world’s poorest countries," said Dr. Lob-Levyt.
"Without the innovative thinking by donors and the flexibility of the
World Bank to place the funding on its balance sheet, we would not be able to
launch this innovative and new way to save lives," he said.
Ultimately through the AMC,
developing country governments will be able to budget and plan for their
immunisation programmes knowing that vaccines will be available in sufficient
quantity at a price they can afford for the long term.
The
GAVI Alliance is a
Geneva-based public-private partnership aimed at improving health in the
world’s poorest countries. The Alliance brings together developing country
and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World
Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialized and developing countries,
research and technical agencies, NGOs, the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and other private philanthropists.
GAVI
support consists of providing life-saving vaccines and strengthening health
systems. Since 2000, 213 million children have been vaccinated and 3.4
million premature deaths averted thanks to GAVI-funded programmes. GAVI has
also been recognised for developing innovative financing mechanisms like the
International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) and the Advance
Market Commitments. For more information, please visit: www.gavialliance.org
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