At the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June 2020, Finland pledged 2.5 million euros to the Vaccine Alliance Gavi, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs says in a press release.
Finland’s contribution will be used to help Gavi reach its goal to immunise children in the next five years and to strengthen global access to a COVID-19 vaccine. By supporting the healthcare systems of the poorest countries, it is possible to prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases globally.
The Summit was attended, among others, by Bill Gates from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari represented Finland.
“The pandemic influences all nations and it is therefore important that we work together. All countries must be involved in the solution to the pandemic and no one is safe until all are safe. The global distribution of the vaccine must be equitable, affordable and transparent independent of where the vaccine is developed and from where it is funded,” Minister Skinnari emphasised in his address to the Summit.
Finland to continue its support
Support directed to the poorest countries’ healthcare systems promotes global health security. Well-functioning systems are more effective in preventing the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases.
"It is therefore important for Finland that a COVID-19 vaccine be made globally available. Attention should also be paid to ensuring that women, girls and persons with a disability and other vulnerable individuals have opportunities to protect against the disease caused by coronavirus," the Ministry says.
Gavi was created in 2000 to strengthen global protection against the threat of epidemics and to promote the immunisation of children against life-threatening infectious diseases.
Gavi has helped vaccinate almost half of the world's children. It promotes the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine in the poorest countries of the world and works in close cooperation with, among others, the WHO, the World Bank and Unicef.
