Back to
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, and Dr Arvind Mayaram, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance for the Government of India, sign an agreement for India to contribute US$ 4 million to GAVI.
New Delhi, 30 January 2014 - The GAVI Alliance today welcomed the announcement by the Government of India of its commitment to contribute US$ 4 million to support the GAVI Alliance in its mission of immunising children against life-threatening diseases.
The contribution, which will be spread over four years as part of the Government of India’s 12th Five Year Plan, marks a milestone in the relationship between India and the GAVI Alliance. India has received support for its immunisation programme from GAVI since 2002. The announcement comes at a critical time as the GAVI Alliance is stepping up its efforts to save children’s lives and protect people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in the world’s poorest countries.
By committing funding to GAVI, India joins 21 international donors and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who are fighting child mortality through immunisation. Collectively, since 2000, they have already helped immunise 440 million of children in the 73 world’s poorest countries, averting 6 million deaths in the process.
The funding reinforces India’s commitment towards immunisation following its recent announcement to scale up the five-in-one pentavalent vaccine nationally. So far, pentavalent vaccine has been introduced in eight states in India with GAVI support, as part of a 2009 agreement, with a firm commitment to extend this to cover all states, starting later this year.