Excellencies Heads of State and Government, dear colleagues and friends,
I thank the European Union, the Gates Foundation and Gavi for bringing us together today.
Outside WHO’s headquarters in Geneva is a bronze statue of a child being vaccinated against smallpox.
In the 20th century alone, it’s estimated that smallpox killed more than 500 million people.
But since 1977, there has not been a single case of smallpox, because thanks to vaccines, it has been eradicated.
Thanks to vaccines, smallpox is no more, and polio is on the brink.
Thanks to vaccines, once feared and deadly diseases like measles and Ebola are now preventable.
And as you know, since the advent of the Expanded Programme on Immunization fifty years ago, vaccines have saved an estimate 154 million lives.
Since 2000 - that's the birth of GAVI - under-five mortality has dropped by more than half, thanks largely to the power of vaccines.
At the World Health Assembly last month, the nations of the world made history by adopting the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
One of its key elements is equitable access to vaccines.
Gavi’s new strategy is its most ambitious yet. It seeks to protect more people, against more diseases, faster than ever before, and will be key to achieving the Immunization Agenda 2030.
As we all know, we face many challenges.
Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress.
We live in a world in which nations seem more intent on harming than helping each other.
Our children should not be the ones to pay the price.
Vaccines save lives. They allow individuals, families, communities, economies and nations to flourish.
To put it simply, Gavi’s success is the world’s success.
And that’s why a fully funded Gavi is essential, for a healthier, safer, and fairer world.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all that have pledged today, and I hope this will continue, and Gavi will be fully funded.
Thank you so much.