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India joins UK’s global vaccine mission, commits $15 million over next five years
According to Gavi, India is the only country that has moved from being a recipient to a donor. India is also now its largest manufacturer, accounting for more than 60% of Gavi vaccines.
India on Thursday joined the UK’s vaccine mission during the Global Vaccine Summit 2020, which helped secure $7.4 billion in funding to support global vaccine supply and immunisation.
The virtual event saw representatives of more than 50 countries – including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other heads of state and government, business leaders, UN agencies and civil society – pledging their support to Gavi, the vaccine alliance, in its commitment to help save up to eight million lives over the next five years.
India committed $15 million to Gavi over the next five years at Thursday’s summit.
According to Gavi, India is the only country that has moved from being a recipient to a donor. India is also now its largest manufacturer, accounting for more than 60% of Gavi vaccines.
The acting UK high commissioner, Jan Thompson, said: “I was pleased to see such a strong endorsement from Prime Minister Modi at today’s summit, and to hear his message about the importance of global solidarity.
“As he said, India’s capacity to produce vaccines at low cost and research expertise will play a very important role. The UK is Gavi’s leading donor and already playing a major role in the international response to Coronavirus. I’m delighted to see the continuing and excellent UK-India collaboration as a force for good against Covid-19 – from vaccine development to keeping essential medical supply routes open.”
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped the summit will be the “moment when the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against disease”.
Gavi’s efforts, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, help stop the spread of infectious diseases and resurgence of other epidemics. “If a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is developed, it will also have a role in its delivery around the world. Global access will ensure a collective international recovery,” said a statement from the UK high commission.
Gavi has immunised more than 760 million children in the poorest countries, saving more than 13 million lives. It holds a pledging conference every five years to raise funds for its next strategic period, and Thursday’s summit secured funding for 2021-25.
The UK has supported Gavi since its inception in 2000 and is its largest donor, with a pledge of £1.65 billion for the next five years. The Global Vaccine Summit 2020 built on the UK’s recent role as co-lead for the Global Coronavirus Response Initiative on May 4, which raised 7.4 billion euros (about £6.64 billion) for vaccines, tests and treatment to tackle the Coronavirus.
UK-India collaboration for a possible coronavirus vaccine includes a consortium comprising Serum Institute, Gates Foundation, MIT and Spy Biotech, a UK-based biotech company, which is trying to develop a vaccine using the new “spy-tag vaccine development technology”.
Oxford Nanopore is also working with some of India’s leading scientific institutions to focus on rapid analysis of Coronavirus samples, while a long-term Merck and Wellcome Trust venture on vaccine research, policy and manufacturing will be based in Delhi.
