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International vaccine alliance Gabi is trying to convince President Donald Trump’s administration to maintain vital funds for the body by claiming that donations will boost the US vaccine industry as they seek to raise $9 billion by the second half of this year.
Gavi CEO Sania Nishtar said the organization recently held a meeting with administration and Congress members, insisting that despite efforts by the US to cut foreign aid, 13% of its funds should continue to donate.
She said Gavi is trying to align with the administration’s three priorities of “safeter, stronger and more prosperous” including highlighting that global health investments can stop spreading disease before reaching the American coast.
The agency has a long history of working with the United States during the first Trump administration, she said. “Usually, when we talk about Gavi, we speak in human language. You know, saved, death is avoided, illness is avoided. What does it mean to save a child’s life?” she told the Financial Times.
“But maybe they don’t listen to the commercial aspects of the story very well, so this time I’ve emphasized that we’ll explain it: that aspect of the Atlantic where we buy the vaccine (this is quantum, this is the return on investment.”
During their meetings with lawmakers in the capital, they had not encountered any obvious anti-vaccine sentiment. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. frequently questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
She noted that filling the gap left in the event of the US withdrawal despite having new pledges from the EU, Canada and Indonesia was “very difficult” for other donors.
Gavi’s current aspirations are to vaccinate 500 million children over the next five years. This is “twice the speed of past trends.” If US contributions are taken from the equation, “it means we cannot vaccinate 75 million children. That’s the deaths of around 1.3 million people. That’s the interest. That’s why we continue to reach out to the US administration,” she added.
Among the vulnerable areas, “there are a completely new range of vaccines that are very exciting, opening up new possibilities for treatment and new possibilities to reduce morbidity and mortality.
She suggested that it is too early to identify the impact of other cuts to support programs created by the Trump administration, for example. “There is a significant amount of disruption on the ground, especially in Africa. (However) the full scale of deployment is still unknown. Where is the supply chain disrupted? Where is the rent in the warehouse being paid?
