Support for GAVI Alliance in the race to immunise children announced at London 2012 Olympic stadium

Sports Relief

Helen Evans and Kevin Cahill CBE, Comic Relief CEO, at the Sport Relief Games, held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Credit: Comic Relief/2014/Tom Dymond.

London, 23 March 2014 – Children in Africa and Asia are set to benefit from the sporting efforts of thousands of Britons thanks to a generous donation from Sport Relief towards the GAVI Alliance’s mission to increase immunisation in the world’s poorest countries.

Sport Relief has announced a £3 million pledge to the Alliance for 2014 to support vaccine programmes in the world’s poorest countries. This funding will be matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the GAVI Matching Fund, bringing the total to £6 million.

GAVI Alliance Deputy CEO, Helen Evans, joined Comic Relief CEO Kevin Cahill at the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games, held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home of the 2012 Olympic Games, to sign the agreement.

“The support the GAVI Alliance receives from Sport Relief, thanks to donations from the UK public, makes a tremendous impact in the lives of children living in some of the most difficult circumstances,” said Helen Evans. “We are grateful for the continued support of Sport Relief and the generosity of the UK public towards our mission to ensure that children receive vital vaccines no matter where they live.”

“Vaccines are one of the simplest and most cost effective ways of preventing child deaths and Comic Relief is delighted that, thanks to the generosity of the public, we are able to continue supporting immunisation through the GAVI Alliance,” said Kevin Cahill, CEO, Comic Relief.

The support the GAVI Alliance receives from Sport Relief, thanks to donations from the UK public, makes a tremendous impact in the lives of children living in some of the most difficult circumstances  

GAVI Alliance Deputy CEO, Helen Evans

On Friday night, a series of videos fronted by British celebrities David Tennant and Nick Grimshaw showed the harsh realities facing communities in Sierra Leone and Kenya when it comes to vaccine-preventable diseases. They showed children fighting for their lives against diseases such as pneumonia that are preventable through vaccination.

A GAVI Matching Fund partner since 2012, Comic Relief has contributed more than £10.5 million for vaccination programmes in developing countries. These contributions have been doubled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation meaning £21 million has been provided to GAVI Alliance programmes thanks to Comic Relief support.

Under the GAVI Matching Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged to match up to US$ 50 million donated by companies, foundations, their employees, customers and business partners. The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) is making a similar match of up to £50 million in pledges by UK organisations.

GAVI is funded by governments [Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States], the European Commission, OPEC, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as private and corporate partners [Absolute Return for Kids, Anglo American plc., The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Comic Relief, His Highness Sheikh Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, JP Morgan, “la Caixa” Foundation, LDS Charities, Lions Clubs International, and Vodafone].

Click to view the full donor list.

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