The United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) announced today that it has received a US$139 million contribution from the GAVI Alliance to support the worldwide effort by the Measles Initiative to reduce measles deaths by 90 percent by 2010.
This is GAVI's second contribution to the Measles Initiative, a public- private partnership that recently announced an unprecedented decline in measles deaths in Africa.
"The United Nations Foundation -- and everyone who cares about the health of children around the world -- is grateful for GAVI's support of the Measles Initiative. The Measles Initiative and GAVI are two of the most successful global health initiatives in recent years," said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the UN Foundation. "Together we are demonstrating what can be accomplished when the public and private sectors work together to solve major global issues."
Last month the Measles Initiative announced that measles mortality had been reduced by 60 percent between 1999 and 2005. "GAVI's new support, generated from a new financing initiative, is a major 'shot in the arm' for the global effort to reduce measles deaths by 90 percent by 2010," Wirth added.
"Vaccines are a best buy in health, as demonstrated by the dramatic drop in measles-related deaths we have recently witnessed," said Julian Lob-Levyt, Executive Secretary of the GAVI Alliance. "We will invest the resources it takes to save children from deadly diseases such as measles, working together with partners such as the UN Foundation and the Measles Initiative," Lob-Levyt continued. "Long-term commitments and partnerships of this kind are crucial if we are to reach the Millennium Development Goals on health," he concluded.
GAVI's US$139 million contribution to the Measles Initiative is made possible by an innovative new initiative known as the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). IFFIm has been designed to accelerate the availability of funds to be used for health and immunization programs in 70 of the world's poorest countries. The Measles Initiative is one of the first programs to benefit from IFFIm funding. "The IFFIm was designed to accelerate availability of resources for priority immunization programs. The Measles Initiative presents a particularly strong case for this significant investment, and we are very pleased that priority measles campaigns will receive a significant boost as a result of this contribution," said Alan Gillespie, Chair of the IFFIm Board.
Measles deaths have fallen by 60 percent worldwide since 1999 -- a major public health success. This exceeds the United Nations goal to cut measles deaths in half between 1999 and 2005.