On June 13, the United States announced that it will contribute $450 million to the GAVI Alliance over 2012 to 2014. The pledge, subject to congressional approval, is part of the $4.3 billion pledged by global donors, which exceeded the $3.7 billion target.
The successful pledging session speaks to the strengths of the GAVI Alliance. Over the past decade, GAVI has driven down the costs of life-saving vaccinations and has helped the poorest countries expand their vaccination programs. It has also improved the transparency of vaccine prices with its partner UNICEF and delivered commitments from vaccine manufacturers to significantly lower prices for rotavirus and HPV vaccines.
With its funding for the next several years secured, GAVI has an opportunity to build on its strengths and further benefit the health of children worldwide. In this essay, Amanda Glassman of CGD and Lisa Carty, Margaret Reeves, and Stephen Morrison of CSIS recommend an agenda to help GAVI do so. Their recommendations include the following:
- Create new incentives for recipient countries to adequately finance their entire vaccination program.
- Engage GAVI graduate countries and other lower middle-income countries in a targeted manner, using results-based financing, higher co-financing requirements and reputational incentives.
- Close GAVI’s non-vaccine funding windows and use these funds to instead pay ex-post for improvements in vaccination coverage, measured rigorously and independently.
- Establish longer-term contracts with vaccine manufacturers, building on the Advanced Market Commitment, to further drive down vaccine prices and support the rapid introduction of new vaccines.
This essay is co-published with the Center for Strategic & International Studies
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