Norway strengthens commitment to immunisation in developing countries

Børge Brende, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr Seth Berkley, Gavi CEO at the signature of the pledge in Oslo. Credit: Gavi/2016/T.Simensen.

Oslo, 7 April 2016 – Børge Brende, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, today signed an agreement that will see Norway commit NOK 6.25 billion (US$ 850 million) to support the immunisation of children living in the world’s poorest countries between 2016 and 2020.

This renewed commitment – first announced by Prime Minister Erna Solberg in January 2015 at the Gavi replenishment conference in Berlin - represents a 50% increase in the country’s direct support for Gavi in the 2011-2015 period, underlining Norway’s strong commitment to childhood immunisation. The funds will help Gavi support developing countries to immunise more than 300 million children by 2020, helping save five to six million lives.

“Norway is honoured to be among the founders of Gavi,” stated Minister Brende. “It has been a remarkable journey, and we want Gavi to keep building on its impressive achievements. Full funding is a prerequisite for Gavi reaching its ambitious goals. Norway answers to this call by significantly increasing its contribution through the agreement I just signed. Global health security, with healthy, immunised girls and boys in all countries obtaining good education, is at the top of our development agenda.”

“We are very grateful to Norway for not only renewing but increasing its generous commitment to Gavi,” said Dr Seth Berkley, Gavi CEO. “Norway has demonstrated its strong support for childhood immunisation through its significant financial and political commitments and by proactively engaging with Gavi through its Board. This shows how important immunisation is to Norway and how the country values giving all children the opportunity to grow into healthy adults, no matter where they live.”

Norway has been a long-standing supporter of immunisation through Gavi. As one of the organisation’s original six donors, Norway has steadily increased its strong political and financial support since Gavi’s creation in 2000.

Norway contributes to the Vaccine Alliance in three ways – through direct funding, through the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) and through the pilot Advance Market Commitment for pneumococcal vaccines. Since 2001, Norway has contributed in total US$ 1.14 billion to Gavi in direct contributions, US$ 256 million through IFFIm, and US$ 50 million to AMC. Norwegian companies, such as DNB and Statoil, as well as private individuals have also provided funding to Gavi.

In 2014, Norway committed a further US$ 166 million (NOK 1.14 billion) for the period 2014-2019 to support the Vaccine Alliance’s effort to complement the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)’s work. This includes strengthening routine immunisation and introducing inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in Gavi-supported countries.

“I am personally very proud that Norway continues to offer such strong support to childhood immunisation, an issue very close to my heart,” said Dagfinn Høybråten, former Chair of the Gavi Board who led two successful Gavi replenishment rounds. “This increased contribution sends out the message that Norway is living up to its commitments to the world’s poorest children.”

Every year, nearly 19 million children, mainly in poor countries, do not receive a full course of the most basic vaccines and more than one in five of all children who die before the age of five lose their lives to vaccine-preventable diseases.

Since 2000, Gavi has helped immunise more than half a billion children in the 73 poorest countries in the world, saving 7 million lives. At the Gavi pledging conference in January 2015, donors pledged US$ 7.5 billion to support Gavi’s goal of helping developing countries to immunise an additional 300 million children in the 2016 to 2020 period.