Advancing the Fight Against Infectious Diseases

Last week marked an incredibly important moment for all those engaged in the fight against infectious diseases. The Global Vaccine Summit, hosted by Gavi and DFID, raised $8.8 billion, which will help immunize 300 million children in the world’s poorest countries against diseases like measles, polio and diphtheria by the end of 2025, while also supporting the global fight against COVID-19. I had the honor to participate in the event, alongside my Pfizer colleagues and our partners in global health around the world, as Pfizer renewed its commitment to the Alliance for the next five years.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the virtual event format was much different from previous summits and served as a stark reminder that the fight against infectious diseases remains a daunting challenge that requires unprecedented and sustained global collaboration.

Gavi’s partnership model is one of the greatest success stories in the history of public health, ensuring the delivery of life-saving vaccines to an entire generation. To date, it has helped protect 760 million children from disease and helped save 13 million lives. And the impact of such effort extends far and wide. As Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya, has stated: vaccines have been acting as a catalyst to the economic development of countries.

It is this transformational impact that inspires confidence for the future and that led 32 countries, pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers, global health leaders and others in the private sector to re-affirm their support to the Alliance.

Pfizer is proud to have contributed to this movement for the past 10 years, but we also know there is more to do. We need to sustain and build upon the gains we’ve made. We need to help protect even more children from pneumococcal disease through our current and, if approved, next-generation vaccines, as well as deliver new breakthroughs that align with Gavi’s work, focused on life-threatening diseases like meningitis and respiratory syncytial virus. That’s why we have renewed our commitment to the Alliance.

In addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, we will work closely with Gavi, governments, partners and other manufacturers to ensure that a COVID-19 vaccine, pending a successful trial and regulatory approval, will be distributed as quickly and broadly as possible. Speed, safety and availability will drive these efforts, not the traditional cost/benefit analysis.

For two decades, Gavi has worked to make our world a healthier, safer, more prosperous place for all. As we continue the fight against infectious diseases, we will rely on science and innovation to safeguard the gains already made in vulnerable communities and to find new breakthroughs that will positively impact peoples’ lives, no matter where they live.