Gavi and Asian Development Bank sign new partnership to boost health financing for immunisation

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a new cooperation agreement in support of sustainable health and immunisation financing in the countries they serve.

Under the agreement, Gavi and ADB will work closely to identify concrete financing solutions to expand health and immunisation investments at the country level across Asia and the Pacific.

The partnership aims to help countries develop robust immunisation and health policies, while strengthening health systems by helping them adapt to the impacts of climate change across the 32 countries of overlap in the Asia-Pacific region.

The collaboration comes as ADB is scaling up its lending capacity by an additional $ 100 billion over the next decade, with a focus on building resilience against the impacts of a changing climate. At the same time, Gavi is entering a new strategic phase aimed at helping countries transition to self-sustained immunisation funding, with countries contributing the highest-ever level of domestic financing towards the costs of vaccines.

“We are committed to ensuring that universal health coverage, regional health security, and sustainable and resilient health systems are part of our development agenda. This partnership with Gavi will help our developing member countries strengthen their health systems, particularly vaccination programmes, and build long-term preparedness for future pandemics.” said Ayako Inagaki, Senior Director, Human and Social Development Sector Office, Asian Development Bank.