Bill Gates says his foundation will not compensate for funding shortfalls caused by U.S. and UK aid cuts to global vaccination efforts, warning of rising child mortality as a result.
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will not make up for funding gaps created by major reductions in global vaccine support from Western governments, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom.
Speaking ahead of a crucial donor conference in Brussels, Gates said the foundation would maintain its $1.6 billion contribution to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance, but would not exceed that amount despite pressure created by shrinking state aid.
“We’re not a substitute,” Gates told the Financial Times.
“Even people who are cutting should prioritise Gavi as some portion of their budget.”
He described Gavi as the “best buy in global health” and called for sustained government support.
Gavi aims to raise $9 billion to expand its efforts, which include vaccinating an additional 500 million children over the next five years. But the alliance is facing major shortfalls due to declining commitments from its top donors, the U.S. and UK. Combined with the Gates Foundation, these entities accounted for more than half of all pledges to Gavi between 2000 and 2023.
The Trump administration’s latest budget includes no allocation for Gavi. Meanwhile, the UK has pledged to remain a “leading investor” despite implementing a 40% cut to its international aid as a share of national income.
Gates, who has spoken with members of the U.S. Congress, warned that the consequences of such cuts are already being felt.
“For the first time in decades, the number of kids dying around the world will likely go up this year instead of down,” he said, citing the reversal of decades-long gains in child mortality.
He emphasised that fully funding Gavi would be the most effective step in reversing the rise in global child deaths. “That is a tragedy,” Gates said.
If U.S. and UK contributions fall below the $1.6 billion mark, the Gates Foundation would become Gavi’s single largest donor. It is also set to become the top funder of the World Health Organisation after President Donald Trump initiated a U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations health body.
“It would be a strange world where a single individual is a bigger giver to the World Health Organization and Gavi than every other country in the world,” Gates said. “That is a very strange thing.”
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concer...
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic miss...
Türkiye has established four sub-commissions to oversee the implementation of a new legal framework tied to the disarmament of the outlawed Ku...
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv wants peace but will not surrender to Russia, as foreign leaders joined Independence Day events marking 35 years since Ukraine’s independence.
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
A newly created pro-government political party has secured a commanding victory in Kazakhstan's snap parliamentary election, according to exit polls, strengthening President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's influence at a pivotal moment in the country's political transition.
Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, following 13 transits a day earlier, as disruptions continue to restrict traffic through the key energy chokepoint.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Australia has confirmed its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a mammal after the virus was detected in a dead long-nosed fur seal in South Australia, authorities said.
Malaysia is facing a sharp rise in dengue infections, with the capital Kuala Lumpur and the wider Klang Valley emerging as the main centres of concern.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak has surpassed 5,000 confirmed cases, with the death toll reaching 2,378, according to the latest government data.
The Democratic Republic of Congo says the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to more than 5,000, with more than 2,300 deaths. Delayed detection, weak surveillance, funding shortages and conflict have allowed the virus to spread faster than in any previous epidemic at the same stage.
Australia warned on Monday (3 August) of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first confirmed mass mortality event among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast of South Australia, south of Adelaide.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment