President Bio visits Gavi to advance immunisation and Gavi Leap reform

President Bio of Sierra Leone and Gavi CEO Dr Sania Nishtar discuss immunisation progress, sustainable health financing and global health reform.
President Bio: “When we invest in immunisation, we are investing in the lives and livelihoods of children, and in the economic progress of a country.”
Dr Sania Nishtar: “President Bio has been a stalwart champion of immunisation and we look forward to deepening our partnership as Sierra Leone advances its national health priorities."

Geneva, 16 October 2026 – His Excellency Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, this week visited Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance's headquarters in Geneva, where he and Gavi CEO Dr Sania Nishtar discussed the country's strong progress in immunisation, its wider effort to turn health and education into long-term economic growth, and how global health partnerships can better align with national priorities and country leadership.

The visit focused on how Gavi's reform agenda to reduce fragmentation – the Gavi Leap – translates into practice with national leadership setting the direction, partners coordinating behind it and domestic investment growing alongside external support. Against a backdrop of sustained pressure on global health financing and growing calls for African health sovereignty, both delegations reflected on the importance of deeper coordination and making the best use of available resources.

The visit comes as Sierra Leone builds on encouraging preliminary results from its 300 Days of Activism for Triple Zeros initiative, including reported reductions in maternal and child deaths and progress in reaching previously unvaccinated children. Discussions explored how to protect this progress through strong routine immunisation, sustained domestic investment in health, and continued investment in people – the human capital agenda at the centre of the country's development strategy.

Reflecting on the visit, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio President of Sierra Leone said:

"Immunisation is a moral imperative. Every child we reach is a life protected, a family spared the grief of a preventable death, and a future that stays hopeful. Protecting children is every government’s first duty and a foundation for prosperity. That is why I welcome Gavi’s allocation of US$ 60.967 million to Sierra Leone under the Gavi 6.0 programme for 2026–2030. Sierra Leone has also committed approximately US$ 4.647 million in domestic financing over the same period. When we invest in immunisation, we are investing in the lives and livelihoods of children, and in the economic progress of a country."

"Sierra Leone has demonstrated how political leadership can accelerate progress in immunisation and child health," said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi. "The country's efforts to reach previously unreached children, strengthen domestic investment and champion a more country-led approach to health and development reflect the ambitions of the Gavi Leap. President Bio has been a stalwart champion of immunisation, and we look forward to deepening our partnership as Sierra Leone advances its national health priorities."

For over two decades, the partnership between Gavi and Sierra Leone has helped expand access to life-saving vaccines, introduce new ones, and strengthen immunisation systems. President Bio's visit reaffirmed a shared commitment to sustaining this progress, and moving from declarations to implementation – while strengthening how countries and partners work together to deliver tangible results for communities.

Notes to Editors

All Gavi-supported countries co-finance the cost of vaccine doses.
US $4.647 million represents Sierra Leone’s projected co-financing contributions for Gavi-funded vaccines between 2026 and 2030.
It does not include Sierra Leone’s financing for traditional vaccines and other domestic investments in immunisation.

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 1.3 billion children – and prevented more than 23 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, mpox and yellow fever vaccines. After more than 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.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Meg Sharafudeen
+41 79 711 55 54
msharafudeen@gavi.org

Cirũ Kariũki
+41 79 913 94 41
ckariuki@gavi.org