In a massive feat of endurance, ONE members have been campaigning relentlessly for increased support for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance for the last eight (yes, eight!) months.
They’ve tweeted, instagrammed, held meetings, signed petitions, made phone calls, shared their children’s drawings, and demonstrated on the streets – all to drive home the point to world leaders that #EveryParent deserves the chance to give their child a healthy start in life.
So, unless these leaders have been living on under rocks (with no mobile signal), there’s no way they could have missed our message.
Today, the moment of truth arrived: donors gathered in Berlin and, in total, pledged $7.5 billion over the next 5 years. Those resources will set Gavi on a path to supporting the immunization of 300 million more children, saving 5-6 million more lives. But underneath that total, there are some real heroes and a few big disappointments worth calling out.
To show you how they did, we turned to babies – notorious for telling you exactly what they think – to help give our verdicts:
Germany
Amount pledged: €600 million
Verdict: Not only did Germany increase its Gavi contribution in a major way, but Chancellor Merkel and her team dedicated their time and political capital to pushing their peers to do more—an effort that really paid off!
UK
Amount pledged: £1 billion
Verdict: When the UK announced their £1 billion pledge back in November, we were thrilled to see them maintain their role as a top Gavi donor. Today, we were pleased to hear Minister Justine Greening reaffirm the commitment and the pride they feel in Gavi’s life-saving work.
United States
Amount pledged: $1 billion (over 4 years, 2015-2018)
Verdict: We’re delighted to see the US match their rhetoric on ending preventable child deaths with this bold new down-payment in Gavi, which should also set them on a course to provide additional resources in the last two years of Gavi’s replenishment (2019 and 2020).
France
Amount pledged: €250 million
Verdict: We see this as an important first step for France for 2015, but we hope it can increase its overall aid budget this year to support global health even more in the future.
Norway
Amount pledged: 6.25 billion NOK
Verdict: Norway was already one of the top donors to Gavi, and we’re pleased to see them sustain this leadership role with fresh funding and support.
Canada
Amount pledged: CAD $520 million
Verdict: Canada not only stepped up its initial pledge to Gavi in November as part of its support for maternal and child health issues, but also chipped in an extra $20 million today to help Gavi reach it’s full target. That’s a great pair of contributions!
Australia
Amount pledged: AUD $250 million
Verdict: This pledge sustains Australia’s current level of commitment to Gavi, but they didn’t step up like others did today. We’re still concerned that the government has outlined cuts that will slash Australian aid to its lowest level ever by 2018. We hope they will reverse these cuts, leaving room for future investments in Gavi and other innovative development programs.
Japan
Amount pledged: $0
Verdict: Japan was already the smallest contributor to Gavi of all the G7 countries. To see them pledge nothing at this replenishment was incredibly disappointing, particularly given their hosting of the next G7 after Germany, in 2016.
Italy
Amount pledged: €100 million
Verdict: As one of Gavi’s original donors, we’re thrilled to see Italy recommit to the effort and step up with increased resources on top of its existing innovative finance commitments.
Netherlands
Amount pledged: €250m
Verdict: We were excited to hear Minister Ploumen announce a 25% increase to the Netherlands’ contribution, along with praise for Gavi’s partnership model.
Sweden
Amount pledged: 1.5 billion SEK
Verdict: We had high hopes for a big pledge from Sweden, but they really left us – and Gavi – hanging, bringing a pledge that was less than their last 5-year commitment.
European Commission
Amount pledged: €200m
Verdict: The European Commission already played a key role for Gavi by hosting their replenishment kickoff last May and announcing a significant increase to their pledge at that meeting. But they gave us a great surprise today by increasing that pledge further, showing real strength and leadership.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Amount pledged: $1.55 billion
Verdict: The Gates Foundation has been a Gavi supporter from the beginning, providing not just direct funds but also the personal commitment of Bill, Melinda, and their team. They worked tirelessly in recent months (right into the final hours before the conference) to urge their peers to step up and reach the $7.5 billion target; we wouldn’t have hit it without their effort!
The work doesn’t stop here. Now, it’s up to donors to make good on their pledges and for Gavi and its many partners in low-income countries to deliver on their promises and get vaccines out to more children.
