Cameron pledges ANOTHER £814m towards vaccinating the world's poorest children (on top of £2bn we are already going to donate)

By Daily Mail Reporter


-Pneumonia and diarrhoea vaccines 'will save 1.4m lives over next five years'
-UK spending more on Gavi in next 30 years than any country including U.S.
-Cameron defends 'strong moral cause' in light of spending cuts
-Bill Gates to make donation of $1billion over five years

Britain will donate an additional £814 million to vaccinate more than 80million children against diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, David Cameron announced today.

The Prime Minister said the money would help save 1.4million lives in the developing world over the next five years.

'Britain will play its full part,’ he said, adding that the money would save ‘one child’s life every two minutes.’

The UK has already pledged £2billion over the next 30 years towards the fund set up by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi).

This is more than any other nation – including the U.S.

David Cameron, speaking at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation conference, has promised increased global aid from Britain


At a conference organised by Gavi in London today, world leaders, charities and philanthropists including Microsoft's Bill Gates were urged to give an extra £2.3billion by 2015.

Mr Gates promised to make a donation of £1billion over the next five years.

Mr Cameron acknowledged that the increased cash for vaccinations - part of the UK's goal of devoting 0.7 per cent of national income to aid by 2013 - would be 'controversial' at a time of cuts in spending on public services at home.

He told the conference: 'At a time when we are making spending cuts at home what we are doing today and the way we are protecting our aid budget is controversial.

'Some people say we simply can't afford spending money on overseas aid right now, that we should get our own house in order before worrying about other people's problems.

'Others see the point of helping other countries to develop, but they don't think aid works anyway, because corrupt dictators prevent it from reaching the people who really need it.'

But the Prime Minister rejected these arguments.

'I think there is a strong moral case for keeping our promises to the world's poorest and helping them, even when we face challenges at home,' he said.

'When you make a promise to the poorest children in the world, you should keep it.'

Line-up (l-r): Seth Berkley, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Gavi Alliance, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia, Princess Cristina, La Caixa Foundation,David Cameron, Bill Gates, Mr Mitchell, and Dagfinn Hoybraten, Chair of the GAVI Alliance board

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell defended the spend and said: 'This alliance on vaccines and immunisation came out just about top - really, really good value for money - and that is why we are giving it such strong support.

'We know that British taxpayers' money will reach where it is really needed.'

Mr Cameron said: 'I don't think it would be right to ignore the difference we can make, turn inwards solely to our own problems and effectively balance the books while breaking our promises to the world's poorest.

'Instead, we should step up, deliver on our promises to the world's poorest and help save millions of lives.'

Mr Cameron acknowledged that the increased cash for vaccinations - part of the UK's goal of devoting 0.7 per cent of national income to aid by 2013 - would be 'controversial' at a time of cuts in spending on public services at home.

In addition to the added £814million, the UK has already committed £2billion over 30 years, which is more than any other nation.

He told the conference: 'At a time when we are making spending cuts at home what we are doing today and the way we are protecting our aid budget is controversial.

'Some people say we simply can't afford spending money on overseas aid right now, that we should get our own house in order before worrying about other people's problems.

'Others see the point of helping other countries to develop, but they don't think aid works anyway, because corrupt dictators prevent it from reaching the people who really need it.'

But the Prime Minister rejected these arguments.

'I think there is a strong moral case for keeping our promises to the world's poorest and helping them, even when we face challenges at home,' he said.

'When you make a promise to the poorest children in the world, you should keep it.'

Mr Cameron recalled watching the G8 summit at Gleneagles and the Live 8 pop concert in 2005 and thinking it was right that world leaders should make public pledges to help the poorest countries.

Bill Gates speaking today during a television interview at the Gavi conference. He revealed at the conference that his Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation was pledging an additional $1billion to the cause

The Prime Minister addresses the conference, which is discussing how to generate the funds to ensure children receive protection against potentially fatal diseases


'For me, it is a question of values,' he said. 'This is about saving lives. It was the right thing to promise. It was the right thing for Britain to do. And it is the right thing for this Government to honour that commitment.'

Some people were pressing him to put off aid commitments until after Britain's economy is back on an even keel, said Mr Cameron.

But he insisted: 'We can't afford to wait. How many minutes do we wait? Three children die every minute from pneumonia alone. Waiting is not the right thing to do. I don't think 0.7 per cent of our gross national income is too high a price to pay for saving lives.'

And Mr Cameron said that there was a 'strong practical' argument for aid, as it would help transform poor countries in Africa into trading partners for the UK, and would prevent the conditions which lead to mass migration, radicalisation and terrorism.

'If we invest in countries before they get broken, we might not end up spending so much on dealing with the problems. Whether that's immigration or new threats to our national security,' he said.

Mr Cameron added: 'I actually think that most people in our country want Britain to stand for something in the world, to be something in the world.

'When I think about what makes me proud of our country, I think of our incredibly brave servicemen and women and of our capabilities as an economic and diplomatic power, but I also think of our sense of duty to help others.

'That says something about this country and I think it's something we can be proud of.'

Acknowledging the problem of corruption, Mr Cameron said: 'I totally get this argument. It's right to be angry when aid is badly spent.

'Let me tell you: I'm not prepared to see a single penny of hard-earned money wasted on corrupt governments, or badly spent aid.

'But the answer isn't to walk away from aid. It's to change the way we do development - so that we get real results and real value for money.'

Gavi's aim of raising £2.3billion over the next five years will help protect at least a quarter of a billion children against killer diseases and save four million lives, said Mr Cameron.

And he asked: 'In this world, where countries are tackling deficits, and more than ever before the emphasis is quite rightly on getting value for money, what greater value for money can there possibly be?'

Too late: Mother-of-five Mame Bockarie is pictured here with three-month-old baby daughter Yabeh, whose sister Isata died in a Sierra Leone hospital of pneumonia aged 14 months. She had not been immunised.

Saving lives in Sierra Leone: Two of Hawa Sesay's (left) babies died before being immunised. Pictured here with six-month-old son Ibrahim, the mother-of-five from Sierra Leone said she was happy the vaccines were now being made available as it could save her son's life. Mother-of-three Wuya Sannoh's (right) son Abubakarr would have died from pneumonia had he not gone to hospital for treatment.

Britain has already vaccinated 55 million children around the world since 2000.

Mr Mitchell told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'We had a look when we came into Government at all the different ways that Britain does development with British taxpayer funds and one of the very best was the Global Alliance of Vaccines and Immunisation.

'Effectively you can vaccinate a kid in the poor world for the price of a cup of coffee against all five of the killer diseases which mean so many of these children die before the age of five.'

Mr Mitchell also defended Britain's aid budget, which despite cuts across Whitehall has increased, prompting vocal criticism from the Tory backbenches.

He said it was not only 'morally right' but in the UK's national interests to continue to fund development projects around the world.

He said: 'We don't protect our security only by tanks and guns but also by training the police in Afghanistan, getting girls into school in the Horn of Africa and building up government structures in the Middle East.'

Mr Gates was in optimistic mood ahead of the conference, saying he thought it would be 'very, very positive'.

In an open telephone conversation, hosted by broadcaster and Save the Children ambassador Natasha Kaplinksy, Mr Gates said a malaria vaccine could be just a few years away, while polio could follow smallpox in being eradicated thanks to the success of its vaccine.

Vaccines were 'magic', he said.

'They are very inexpensive, they can protect you for your entire life, so diseases like smallpox that used to kill millions are completely gone because of the vaccine.

'It's the greatest thing that ever happened in human health. We need to get them out to people and invent some more.'

The Microsoft founder revealed during the conference that his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was pledging an additional one billion U.S. dollars (£616m) over the next five years to help the campaign.

Save the Children's new report, Vaccines for All, reveals there are still around 24 million children - the world's poorest, and those most vulnerable to disease - that have no access to vaccines.

This could be changed if Gavi gets the resources it needs, it says.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Mitchell said when the Government was elected last year there had been a 'root and branch' review of all 43 of the international organisations through which Britain channels taxpayers' money on development.

He said: 'This is our 'big ask' for this year. We think this is the way that Britain can make a real difference, our taxpayers will feel the money is being really well used.'

Asked about where the money would come from, he replied: 'It comes out of the ring-fenced existing international development budget.'

Jemima Khan, who is an ambassador for Unicef, speaking on the same programme, praised the Government for 'taking the lead' on the issue.

She said: 'This conference is about saving four million extra lives by 2015. At the moment, one child every 20 seconds dies of a vaccine-preventable disease.

'That is still a very shocking figure given that we have the know-how, we have the expertise to do something about that.'

British volunteers in vaccine drive... a closer look at where British money will be spent

British volunteers are helping deliver life saving vaccinations to children in the world's poorest countries.

Dr Shona Johnston has for eight months been helping staff the crowded wards of the Ola During Children's Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where the nation's most desperately ill children are sent for treatment.

The paediatrician has seen the benefit brought by the Sierra Leonean government's commitment to provide free healthcare and vaccination during her stint in the capital city's bustling east end.

It is a world away from her roots in Lerwick, in the Shetland Islands off the north coast of Scotland.

But she stressed how important funds to provide vaccines we in the UK take for granted would be to mothers and children in Sierra Leone.

Many of the children Dr Johnston treats suffer from malnutrition, pneumonia, or diarrhoea.

Vaccinations against these illnesses, which account for over 40 per cent of child deaths in the west African state, would save many lives.

The 31-year-old said: 'Most of the children who are admitted here have infectious diseases, in particular malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoeal infections. There are also some who are malnourished and who have tuberculosis.

'They come from across Freetown and across the country when they are referred by the health visitors whose job it is to get to the people in the most hard to reach areas of the country where access to healthcare is that much more difficult.'

Dr Johnston divides her time between providing clinical care for the children and training up the Sierra Leonean medical students who are about to graduate.

She said: 'It is very very different to working in a British hospital. For one thing, in the UK there would be more doctors and a lot more equipment.'

Dr Johnston thought hard about agreeing to travel to Sierra Leone after she was offered a placement.

The country was devastated by war in the early 1990's, when rebel forces became notorious for using unimaginably brutal tactics to establish their dominance and attacking the capital of Freetown during a campaign called 'Operation Kill Every Living Thing'.

She was worried about the history of violence, and also about being away from home.

She said: 'It's been hard being away from my husband but this is something I had always wanted to do. But when VSO offered the place in Sierra Leone I did a lot of reading and there was obviously a huge need here.'

She said despite the country's war torn past she had never felt unsafe during her visit.
'It is a very safe place to be, actually; very friendly and very beautiful. It has been one of the hardest things I have ever done, but also one of the best.'

In January, Sierra Leone began immunising infants against pneumococcal disease, the leading cause of severe pneumonia.

She said the vaccine, with a new vaccine to immunise children from the leading cause of diarrhoea, had the potential to save a huge number of lives.

The hospital has currently about 200 children admitted and is treating about 80 cases a day.

The staff are seeing many cases of malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia in the baby units. There is also a ward for malnourished children.

The caseload is handled by six doctors, including Dr Johnston and Dr David Baion, the medical superintendent and paediatrician at the hospital, and three shifts of nurses.

Dr Johnston said: 'Pneumonia and diarrheal diseases between them account for about 40 per cent of infant deaths in Sierra Leone, so the vaccines being introduced will hopefully prevent the most common causes of these diseases.

'Hopefully, they will make a very big impact on the health of children here. Prevention is always better than cure. It will make a huge difference to the health service.'

Sierra Leone has an extremely high infant mortality rate (123 per 1000 live births, according to the WHO).

In January, with Gavi support, the country introduced a new vaccine that will protect children from pneumococcal disease, the leading cause of pneumonia.

The Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone hopes its application for support in introducing rotavirus vaccines, which protect children against the leading cause of severe infant diarrhoea, will be successful.

Since 2000, Gavi has also introduced pentavalent and yellow fever vaccinations, as well as immunisation services and health system strengthening support totalling over 24 million US dollars.

Promise: The increased commitment being promised by David Cameron means that Britain aims to vaccinate more than 80 million children and save 1.4 million lives by 2015


source:dailymail