New bond to save 10 million lives

The first step was taken today to raise funds for a mass immunisation programme for children in the developing world, at a ceremony in London attended by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, and representatives of Britain’s faith groups.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) will deliver 4 billion dollars over the next ten years to be spent on the immunisation of up to 500 million children in the world’s 70 poorest countries against preventable diseases like polio, measles and diphtheria. It is estimated this will save 5 million lives in the years up to 2015, and a further 5 million afterwards, and lead to the eradication of polio.

Speaking in advance of the launch, the Chancellor said:

"Millions of people campaigned to Make Poverty History last year, and now we can say to them all: we are delivering the promises we made, your hopes are becoming a reality, and millions of young children's lives will be saved as a result."

The IFFIm uses long-term, binding commitments from donors as collateral against which to borrow money up front from institutional and private investors, which can be spent immediately on mass vaccination programmes. Commitments have so far been made by the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Brazil and South Africa, together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In total, today’s inaugural bond issue is expected to raise up to 1 billion dollars. The proceeds will go immediately to help the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) to develop new and under-used vaccines, speed up the development of new vaccines in poorer countries and improve health services.

Recognising this combination of strong moral purpose and the power to raise finance, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Chief Rabbi, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Hindu Forum of Britain and the Network of Sikh Organisations have agreed to buy the first six IFFIm bonds. Anti-poverty campaigners Bono and Bob Geldof will also buy bonds today.

Cardinal Renato Martino, representing His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, said:

“His Holiness is pleased to help light the way for others who might also wish to join him in empowering those living in poverty to take an active role in providing themselves and their family life the opportunity to build a better life,”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said:

"No-one needs reminding that faith and the state can be at odds on occasion about certain issues of contemporary significance. This emphatically is not such an occasion; indeed quite the opposite.

“I am delighted to be here with other Church and faith leaders to endorse an initiative masterminded by the Chancellor which we all hope will deliver something of uncommon good to millions of children - and by extension their parents - the great majority of whom are living in abject poverty at huge risk to their health and happiness.

“By buying a bond I make a small contribution to a much bigger effort to mobilise resources to relieve poverty and suffering and build hope for a better future."

The Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, said:

"This is a humanitarian project of the highest order and deserves the support of all who care for the future of our world."

Iqbal Khan, the Chairman of the Business and Economics Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said:

“The Muslim Council of Britain welcomes and supports the IFFIm initiative of our Government to provide life saving vaccines to some of the world’s most vulnerable victims: children in developing countries. While the MCB is pleased to be part of the IFFIm, it hopes that further financing structures of similar facilities will become Shariah compliant to encourage Muslims to take part.

“The MCB will continue to work to ensure that such noble initiatives are structured on a Shariah-compliant basis in the near future, therefore extending participation in this laudable scheme to Muslim investors, and will donate all revenue generated from its participation in IFFIm to charitable causes.”

Ramesh Kallidai, the Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said:

"We are pleased to sign up to this very important initiative, which will go a tremendous way to reducing the number of deaths caused by disease and illness that are preventable by a simple, and readily available vaccine. The GAVI's targets to reduce child mortality are only achievable if government, private, public and voluntary organisations work together."

Dr Indarjit Singh, the Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations UK, said:

“Sikhs everywhere will welcome today's exciting launch by the IFFIm to raise $4 billion through the purchase of Immunisation Bonds to help save the lives of the world's poorest children. Sikhs will recognise it as a positive and significant move, in line with Guru Nanak's teaching on the importance of 'seva', or service to the less fortunate. In purchasing one of the first bonds, the Network of Sikh Organisations is confident that many Sikh organisations in the UK will follow in supporting this worthy and innovative initiative.”

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, the Head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said:

“I warmly welcome the IFFIm initiative, which will be of enormous benefit to nations and people in great need and am pleased that the work of the past three years has thus come to fruition. The lives of countless children will be saved as a direct result of this most worthwhile project. I am delighted that Pope Benedict XVI has also indicated his full support in a very practical way.”

Hilary Benn, International Development Secretary said:

“Every year up to three million children die from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines that are available now or could be in the near future. IFFIm will enable GAVI to save the lives of an additional 5 million children by 2015, and a further 5 million future adult lives after that. Today’s launch of bonds for the International Financing Facility will provide the long term, predictable funding for the vaccinations needed to save these millions of lives.”

Notes to editors

1. Worldwide, more than 10 million children under five die every year, that is nearly 29,000 children that die every day; one every 3 seconds. A quarter of these deaths are caused by diseases that are, or soon will be, vaccine preventable, including measles, polio, diphtheria and hepatitis.

2. GAVI currently operates in over 70 countries. Since its inception in 2000, it has immunised more than 115 million children and saved 1.7 million lives. GAVI has also accelerated the introduction of new vaccines and is strengthening health and vaccine delivery systems.

3. Before GAVI’s inception, immunisation efforts suffered from a lack of stable, predictable and coordinated cash flow. IFFIm will use long-term, legally binding donor commitments to leverage additional money from international capital markets for immediate use as grants to developing countries to support immunisation programmes.

4. IFFIm will double GAVI resources committed and delivered to countries, dramatically expanding access to immunisation and improving health. 84 per cent of the world’s non immunised children are born in countries that are eligible for IFFIm support. Immunisation also supports what is called 'herd immunity' - i.e. if a child is vaccinated, it not only reduces the risk of them catching a disease, but also reduces the risk to others who come in contact with the child. This prevents the spread of disease and many more lives are saved faster.

5. The first disbursement of IFFIm resources is expected before the end of the year. The initial resources will be used to support immunisation for maternal and neo-natal tetanus and measles and to stockpile polio vaccine. Thereafter, IFFIm funds will be focused on strengthening health and immunisation systems and the procurement and delivery of new vaccines, including for Hepatitis B and Yellow Fever.

6. Over the next 10 years, IFFIm will:

Spend $4 billion on vaccines and health and immunisation systems;
Immunise more than 500 million children in over 70 of the poorest countries by 2015;
Save 10 million lives of which 5 million will be children by 2015;
Help to eradicate polio.
Help introduce new technologies and new vaccines.
Help strengthen health systems to deliver immunisation services but also a host of other medical interventions

7. Investing $4 billion over 15 years, without frontloading, would save only 2.5 million lives. But by frontloading the same amount over 10 years through IFFIm, 10 million lives will be saved by 2015 alone. This mechanism also provides more certainty for manufacturers to invest in new and under-used vaccines and speed up the reduction of vaccine prices – helping to save many more lives.

8. One of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (agreed in New York in 2000) is to reduce infant mortality amongst children under the age of 5 by two-thirds by 2015. Expanding access to immunisation through IFFIm will deliver more than a quarter of this target on its own.

9. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury Press Office on 020 7270 5238.

10. Non-media enquiries should be addressed to the Treasury’s Correspondence and Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4558, or by e-mail to public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk

11. This press release and other Treasury publications and information are available on the Treasury website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk. If you would like Treasury press releases to be sent to you automatically by e-mail you can subscribe to this service from the press release site on the website.