Vaccines work: how aid and campaigning has saved lives
Last June, inspired by campaigning by Save the Children supporters, world leaders and companies agreed to a huge increase in funding for childhood vaccination programmes. One year on and 60 million children are now receiving live-saving vaccines. Thanks to you, we're course to save 4 million children's lives by 2015.
At a meeting held by the UK government on 13 June 2011, an enormous £2.76 billion was committed for vaccines through the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI).
The extra funding will be enough to save 4 million children’s lives by 2015. Now one year on, the world is on track to save those lives.
Ghana's simultaneous introduction in April of vaccines to immunise children against pneumonia and diarrhoea - the first African country to do so - typifies the progress being made.
Campaigning and Aid Works
Thousands of our supporters signed petitions and emailed MPs during our Vaccines for All campaign to call for enough vaccines to protect every child, wherever they live, from life-threatening diseases.
The huge increase in GAVI’s funding and its impact on child survival shows what can be achieved when aid from richer countries combines with strong leadership from developing ones.
Millions of children's lives have been saved. It’s a fantastic example of aid how works.
Vaccines for all
This breakthrough deal will lead to children across the developing world being protected against killer diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Vaccines prevent disease and give children a healthy start to life – they represent one of the most cost effective investments to increase children’s health and well-being, decrease poverty and reduce longer term economic and social costs.
And we're striving to get the best deal possible. Thanks to innovative partnerships with manufacturers, new vaccines are being procured for the world’s poorest countries sooner and at a fraction of the price charged in industrialised countries.
The future
One out of five children worldwide does not receive basic vaccinations. GAVI will continue support countries to strengthen health services to ensure that every child is reached. Read more about what needs to be done to vaccinate this 'final fifth' in our report.