3-Feb-10 2:00 PM CST

Bill Gates Commits $10 billion for Vaccines

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed over $10 billion to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) for the research, development and delivery of vaccines for children in developing countries.

Bill and Melinda Gates made their announcement in a press conference at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 29. Their goal is to provide vaccines for 90 percent of children in developing countries, which amounts to preventing about 8 million children’s deaths in the next nine years.

"Over the last 10 years, the success of both increased vaccine coverage and getting new vaccines out has been phenomenal," Bill Gates said.

The Gates have been a part of the GAVI alliance from the beginning. They had already donated $4.5 billion for this effort when the GAVI alliance began in 2000. Amazed by the progress in vaccine coverage for children, the Gates decided to more than double their last contribution to over $10 billion. Julian Lob-Levyt, the CEO of the GAVI alliance, was proud of the partnership's progress and personally acknowledged the Gates’ roles.

“GAVI would not have been in existence but for Bill and Melinda,” Lob-Levyt said.

Vaccination rates in developing countries have progressed dramatically over the past 10 years. For example, measles deaths have dropped by more than 74 percent, according to the GAVI alliance 2008 annual report. Melinda Gates said at the press conference that the lag time between the release of vaccines in developed countries and its distribution in developing countries has decreased, and immunization rates that had been declining in the past decade are now on the rise.

“We think the stage is set for extraordinary progress,” Melinda Gates said. “We think the stage is set to significantly step up coverage.”

The GAVI alliance has big plans for vaccine progress in the next ten years. They plan to increase vaccine distribution for the rotovirus and pneumococcal disease, they are contributing to research and development of a malaria vaccine, and they hope to see the elimination of polio over the next decade.