The European Union (EU) has been a donor to Gavi since 2003, with increasing financial and political support. Building up immunisation systems is a fundamental part of the work the EU does with Gavi and partner countries to strengthen health systems.

The EU is a strong supporter of Gavi and the Gavi COVAX AMC, demonstrating global solidarity through a commitment to access to vaccines throughout the pandemic. In 2020, President von der Leyen announced a contribution of €100 million in grant funding to the Gavi COVAX AMC and €400 million in guarantees through the European Investment Bank (EIB), as part of the EU’s Global Coronavirus Response. This supported the Gavi COVAX AMC to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines for lower- and middle-income countries.

At the G7 Summit in February 2021, as a mark of the EU’s staunch support for Gavi and COVAX, this financial support to the Gavi COVAX AMC was doubled, with an additional €300 million in grant funding and an additional €200 million for a frontloading facility through the EIB. In June 2021, at the Gavi COVAX AMC Summit, President von der Leyen announced €300 million in cost-sharing support through EIB guarantees.

In 2022, the EU responded to the needs of countries requiring support for vaccine delivery and roll-out. Commissioner Urpilainen announced €75 million towards vaccine delivery at the Gavi COVAX AMC Summit in April. This support was complemented by the EIB’s President, Dr Werner Hoyer, pledging an additional €1 billion of flexible liquidity to support the Gavi COVAX AMC. President von der Leyen increased the EU’s commitment to vaccine delivery and roll-out with an additional €300 million for the Gavi COVAX AMC, announced at the Global COVID-19 Summit co-hosted by the United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia and Senegal in May 2022.

The European Commission has supported the COVAX dose donation mechanism, helping to coordinate the dose donations of European Member States. Team Europe has donated more than 400 million COVID-19 doses to COVAX, increasing global access.

The EU, represented by the European Commission, has taken an active role in supporting Gavi’s core mission to increase equitable use of vaccines. On 4 June 2020, at the Global Vaccine Summit, President von der Leyen pledged €300 million to Gavi for the 2021–2025 period, marking a 50% increase in the Commission’s commitment compared to the previous period.

Together with Gavi COVAX AMC funding and the EIB partnership, the EU committed around €3 billion in financing to Gavi in total during this period, an incredible commitment to global solidarity.

In May 2014 the European Commission held an event to launch Gavi’s second replenishment and increased the EU’s contribution to Gavi to €175 million for the period 2016–2020. This commitment was increased to a total of €200 million at the replenishment conference in Berlin the following year. This marked a substantial (threefold) increase from the previous financing period. The contribution comprised €70 million from the Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI) and €130 million from the intra-ACP envelope of the European Development Fund (EDF). The European Commission contributed US$ 58 million between 2003 and 2010. At Gavi’s pledging conference in June 2011, the EU committed an additional €10 million to Gavi from the DCI and EDF financing instruments.

At the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation in Paris, on 20 June 2024, Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen announced that the European Union and Member States would contribute over €750 million (more than US$ 800 million) to Gavi’s African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), including close to €220 million (US$ 233 million) from the European Commission.