Gavi | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The World Health Organization (WHO), with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has distributed over 800 motorbikes to the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) to improve healthcare access in remote regions of Pakistan.

The head of Gavi on Thursday said the organisation which vaccinates children in the world’s poorest countries, was “disappointed” after Washington announced it was pulling funding in an incendiary video questioning its safety standards. A Brussels summit held by the group to raise money on Wednesday was overshadowed by a video message sent by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who raised sweeping vaccine safety doubts without evidence and announced an end to Washington’s support. “We were disappointed to see the video,” Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar told AFP in a phone interview. “Of course, we disagree with many of the things that were narrated in the video. It’s unfortunate but we are hopeful of a positive relationship with the United States. We will continue to engage them.” The United States’s funding withdrawal comes as Gavi and the United Nations reported in April that outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis and yellow fever are on the rise globally amid misinformation and c...

The Gates Foundation said on Tuesday it will commit $1.6 billion over the next five years to support Gavi, a public-private partnership that helps buy vaccines for the world’s poorest children. The number of kids dying around the world will likely go up this year because of the massive cuts to foreign aid, foundation chair Bill Gates said in a statement, adding that funding Gavi was the single most powerful step to stop it. “The legacy of our generation cannot be that we looked away as millions of poor children died of preventable causes,” said Gates. “The world now has affordable, effective, proven tools that save lives. Wealthy nations should fully fund Gavi and the Global Fund, the organisations created to get those products to the people who need them.” The vaccine alliance is looking to raise $9bn for its work from 2026 to 2030 at a pledging event to be held in Brussels on Wednesday. It is co-hosted by the European Union and the Gates Foundation. The Trump administration had previously indicated that it ...