UAE to host Gavi 2018 mid-term review

ABU DHABI, 18th April, 2018 (WAM) -- Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, today announced that the UAE will host the Gavi 2018 mid-term review. The high-level conference will be held in Abu Dhabi on 10th-11th December, 2018, and will lay out a vision for the future of the Gavi model, providing an opportunity to take stock of Gavi’s performance halfway through the current strategic period 2016-2020. The conference will outline new ways of working with partners, allowing Gavi to forge new alliances with the private sector and adopt transformative solutions to advance the global immunisation agenda. "As a long-standing partner of Gavi, the UAE continues to demonstrate its leadership in innovation in global health and development," said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chirwoman of the Gavi Board. "UAE’s commitment to partnership and cooperation can translate into saving millions of children’s lives from vaccine-preventable diseases in years to come. And we look forward to kicking-off our next replenishment cycle with this high-level meeting in Abu Dhabi in December," she added. "We see this event as great opportunity to celebrate 10 million lives saved, conduct mid-term review and look to the years ahead," Al Hashimy said. "With innovation being integral to the UAE Foreign Assistance policy, we look forward to continuing to work together with Gavi to support innovative health approaches that make a real difference to developing countries, ensuring that every child is protected with life-saving vaccines," she added. Minister Al Hashimy continued to say that the event is in line with the Year of Zayed, in particular the principle of human development, which links Gavi’s innovative, life-saving approaches with the values that Sheikh Zayed established throughout his life. At its 2015 replenishment conference in Berlin, Gavi committed to immunise 300 million additional children in the 2016-2020 strategic period, saving five to six million lives, and securing economic benefits of US$80-100 billion globally. The mid-term review will assess Gavi’s progress towards this ambitious goal. It will also be an opportunity to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gavi’s trailblasing innovative finance instruments, such as vaccine bonds through the International Financing Facility for Immunisation and the Advance Market Commitment for pneumococcal vaccine. The conference is held once every five years and will gather over 150 high-level representatives of Gavi donor governments, Gavi-supported countries, civil society, the private sector and partner organisations. "When we meet in Abu Dhabi in December Gavi will have immunised 700 million people, helping to save 10 million lives in the world’s poorest countries since our inception in 2000," said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. "The mid-term review will not only reflect on our results in the past years, it will also help shape the future of Gavi’s innovative model. This high-level dialogue will outline ways in which bringing the public and private sector together can accelerate the adoption of smart solutions, as well as how innovation can be harnessed for global development in the years to come," he added. The UAE was the first Gavi donor from the Middle-East and North Africa region, making its first commitment of US$33 million to Gavi in 2011. This funding was provided under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and was matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2016 the UAE committed US$5 million to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to support its Innovation for Uptake, Scale and Equity in Immunisation, INFUSE, initiative. Launched at the 2016 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, INFUSE helps developing countries accelerate the introduction of tried and tested technology to modernise their immunisation systems.