President Akufo-Addo,
President Masisi,
Deputy Prime Minister Majara,
José Manuel Barroso, my brother,
My sister Sania Nishtar,
Dear colleagues and friends,
I thank Gavi, France, and the African Union for hosting this important gathering.
The participation of Presidents Macron, Kagame, Masisi, Adoo, Faye and Chair Faki also shows their strong commitment to protecting health through the power of vaccines. Thank you so much for supporting Gavi.
As many speakers have said today, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated many of the inequities that are at the root of so many health challenges on our continent.
Nowhere was that more clear than in access to vaccines and other medical countermeasures.
Early in the pandemic, with the leadership and support of President Macron, Gavi, WHO and other partners established COVAX to facilitate equitable access to vaccines.
Together, we distributed almost 2 billion doses of vaccine to 146 countries, saving an estimated 2.7 million lives.
COVAX helped us to reach the world’s poorest and most vulnerable faster than we would have otherwise.
But not fast enough. There is no doubt that the delays in reaching lower-income countries and communities with vaccines cost lives.
We cannot allow the same thing to happen next time.
And there will be a next time. History teaches us that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if.
That’s why WHO’s 194 Member States are negotiating a new international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Equitable access to vaccines and other tools is at the heart of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
And it has been a central part of WHO’s work for more than 50 years.
As you may remember, in 1974, WHO established a groundbreaking initiative to dramatically expand access to vaccines: the Expanded Programme on Immunization – known as EPI.
At the time, less than 5% of the world’s children were immunized. Today, that figure stands at 83%.
Thanks to immunization, a child born today is 40% more likely to see their first birthday than a child born 50 years ago.
This was only achieved by the joint effort of all partners, starting from Gavi, working together.
And that’s what Gavi is: realizing the power of vaccines through the power of partnership –UNICEF, the World Bank, WHO, civil society, industry and more.
The Gavi 6.0 strategy is the most ambitious in its history: to protect more people, against more diseases, faster than before.
Expanding access to vaccines means expanding production of vaccines, especially in Africa.
WHO welcomes the launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, and we are committed to supporting the African Union to reach its target of producing 60% of the continent’s vaccines by 2040.
This is something we are doing in several ways:
Through the mRNA Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa and the Biomanufacturing Training Hub in the Republic of Korea;
Through WHO prequalification and the advice of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, on which Gavi relies;
Through support to strengthen regulatory systems and validate their level of maturity – I think Rwanda, Botswana and Ghana are moving towards that, among other countries, maturity level 3.
And through support for stronger national and continental institutions including the African Medicines Agency and the Africa CDC.
Excellencies Presidents, Excellencies Ministers, dear friends,
WHO is a proud founding partner of Gavi, and remains a proud partner, and I look forward to working with you Sania and José, in the months and years ahead.
Just a few weeks ago, the World Health Assembly adopted our shared strategy for global health for the next four years: the 14th General Programme of Work.
This strategy is not just about what WHO will do on its own, it’s about what we can achieve together to support countries to achieve their health priorities.
In that sense, Gavi’s success is WHO’s success, and the world’s success.
I thank all of you who have supported Gavi so generously for so long, and I thank those donors who have announced pledges today.
You have saved so many lives, and by fully funding Gavi’s Investment Opportunity, and investing in partnerships like AVMA, you can save so many more, now and in the future.
So I call upon you and urge you, while thanking those who have pledged, to fully fund the US$9 billion for Gavi.
Thank you so much.