Gavi statement on scaling innovative financing for the next pandemic

Geneva, 21 May 2026 – The ongoing outbreak of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda underlines the fact that epidemic and pandemic risks continue to proliferate, and the importance of ensuring that adequate financing and delivery systems are ready to be deployed when the need arises.

In order to discuss the path ahead for strong, predictable and effective pandemic financing, Gavi convened partners for a special event in the margins of the 79th World Health Assembly.

Gavi has innovated a number of tools and mechanisms to help save lives and minimise the broader social and economic consequences of public health emergencies:

  • The Gavi First Response Fund, part of Gavi’s Day Zero Financing Facility, provides up to US$ 500 million at-risk financing, primarily to support time-critical vaccine access at the onset of outbreaks. The First Response Fund was used in 2024 to purchase mpox vaccines for low-income countries within 40 days of WHO declaring mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
  • Gavi-financed strategic vaccine stockpiles ensure that countries can respond rapidly to outbreaks of key epidemic-prone diseases, including cholera, mpox, and meningitis.

Other global health stakeholders have taken similar and commendable steps to strengthen health emergency and pandemic response capacity, including CEPI’s 100-day mission and UNICEF’s operational framework.

Coordinating Financial Mechanism

These capabilities have been built in collaboration with countries and donors, and have been designed based on key learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic. As discussions continue in the context of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, there is a growing recognition that urgent and concrete steps should be taken now to coordinate, consolidate and integrate these rapid-response instruments as foundational elements of a Coordinating Financial Mechanism for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Extra capabilities needed

Comprehensive pandemic preparedness, prevention and response requires urgent gaps to be addressed.

  • There are no instruments analogous to the First Response Fund to finance the rapid deployment of non-vaccine medical countermeasures, at risk and at scale.
  • Beyond rapid response, there is a crucial gap in capacity for pandemic-scale financing capable of sustaining equitable access to medical countermeasures in the event of a pandemic. This has been estimated at US$ 50–100 billion in surge financing to scale up and sustain a pandemic-sized response.
  • There remain critical gaps in national preparedness capacities, including urgent gaps in disease surveillance and detection capabilities

These gaps have been recognised by, among others, the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force, which has underscored persistent financing gaps, the need for stronger alignment between health and finance actors, and the importance of pre-arranged, scalable mechanisms to manage pandemic risks.

Development banks could play a key role in mobilising large-scale at-risk financing in the event of a pandemic, and this is why Gavi welcomes the discussions initiated by the World Bank on a Day Zero Financing Framework.

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has taken important steps on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, but there is much work to be done in a context of proliferating risks and vulnerabilities. Overcoming the misalignment and fragmentation of the current pandemic financing landscape remains a fundamental priority. As part of its Gavi Leap reforms, Gavi remains committed to working with countries and partners to accelerate and strengthen coordination on pandemic financing.

Notes to Editors

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.

Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 1.2 billion children – and prevented more than 20.6 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower‑income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and YouTube.

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