• Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have come together to support global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, with pledges now totalling US$ 221 million in funding pledges and US$ 50 million in in-kind support from all six Member States, following Bahrain’s recent commitment of US$ 2.5 million in funding for the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC)

  • The Kingdom of Bahrain's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani: “The collaborative support of COVAX from GCC Member States is testament to the strength of our relations. It is only through engaging with global health partnerships, such as Gavi, that the international community will be able to suppress COVID-19.”

  • Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: “We are delighted to see united support from the GCC Member States for COVAX. This builds on years of growing funding and assistance for Gavi’s routine immunisation programmes.”

  • The first Gulf nations pledge came from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during its G20 Saudi Presidency back in 2020, allocating US$ 150 million to support the Gavi COVAX AMC.

Geneva, 6 October 2021 – Gulf nations have united to support COVAX, with the latest pledge coming from Bahrain in the form of US$ 2.5 million in funding. This means that all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States have now provided funding and/or doses to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC), with the first pledge from Gulf nations coming from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during its G20 Presidency back in 2020.

This new funding pledge comes alongside other recent commitments to COVAX that bring total GCC pledges to US$ 221 million:

  • In the lead up to the Global Vaccine Summit in June 2020, during its G20 presidency, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pledged US$ 500 million to relevant international organizations to support global efforts in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, and allocated US$ 150 million to support the Gavi COVAX AMC.
  • SAR 20 million (US$ 5.3mn) was also pledged by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through KSrelief.
  • The Saudi-based Gamers Without Borders initiative contributed $1.3mn in 2020 and pledged a further US$ 958,500 in August 2021. The funds are channelled to Gavi by KSrelief.
  • The State of Kuwait became a Gavi donor in August 2020 when it pledged US$ 10 million for the Gavi COVAX AMC – it built on that with an additional donation in June 2021, bringing its total contribution to COVAX to US$ 50 million.
  • At the Global Vaccine Summit in June in 2020, Qatar pledged US$ 10 million to the COVAX AMC as a new AMC donor.
  • In June 2021, the Sultanate of Oman announced a pledge of US$ 1 million to the Gavi COVAX AMC.

In addition, the United Arab Emirates has pledged US$ 50 million of in-kind support for COVAX AMC and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator more broadly, which includes shipping of 25 million doses through COVAX and the donation of 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine (Hayat-Vax).

Commenting on the recent donation, the Kingdom of Bahrain's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani stressed: “We are pleased to announce the Kingdom of Bahrain’s continued support for and this contribution to COVAX. International outreach and cooperation is at the heart of Bahrain’s ethos, and we are firm believers that the global pandemic requires cross-border solutions to suppress the virus. To truly overcome the pandemic, a universal approach is necessary to ensure no country is left behind. This shall be accomplished through a collaborative approach facilitated by knowledge and skills sharing, humanitarian assistance, or as in this case, through financial donations. The collaborative support of COVAX from GCC Member States is testament to the strength of our relations. It is only through engaging with global health partnerships, such as Gavi, that the international community will be able to suppress COVID-19.”

“We are delighted to see united support from the GCC Member States for COVAX,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “This builds on years of growing funding and assistance for Gavi’s routine immunisation programmes.”

Over US$ 9.8 billion in funding has been pledged by donors to the Gavi COVAX AMC, as well as over 600 million doses by a number of countries in response to short-term supply challenges and the rise of new variants. Working with donor governments to operationalise growing numbers of dose-sharing pledges, COVAX expects to see more deliveries of donated doses in the weeks and months to come.

Notes to editors

About COVAX

COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO – working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, PAHO, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both high-income and lower-income countries.

Gavi’s role in COVAX

Gavi leads on procurement and delivery at scale for COVAX: designing and managing the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its traditional Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. As part of this role, Gavi hosts the Office of the COVAX Facility to coordinate the operation and governance of the mechanism as a whole, holds financial and legal relationships with 193 Facility participants, and manages the COVAX Facility deals portfolio: negotiating advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of promising vaccine candidates to secure doses on behalf of all COVAX Facility participants. Gavi also coordinates design, operationalisation and fundraising for the Gavi COVAX AMC, the mechanism that provides access to donor-funded doses of vaccine to 92 lower-income economies. As part of this work, Gavi provides funding and oversight for UNICEF procurement and delivery of vaccines to all AMC participants – operationalising the advance purchase agreements between Gavi and manufacturers – as well as support for partners’ and governments work on readiness and delivery. This includes tailored support to governments, UNICEF, WHO and other partners for cold chain equipment, technical assistance, syringes, vehicles, and other aspects of the vastly complex logistical operation for delivery. Gavi also co-designed, raises funds for and supports the operationalisation of the AMC’s no fault compensation mechanism as well as the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 888 million children – and prevented more than 15 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In its role Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Evan O’Connell
+41 79 682 18 95
eoconnell@gavi.org

Meg Sharafudeen
+41 79 711 55 54
msharafudeen@gavi.org

Iryna Mazur
+41 79 429 3671
imazur@gavi.org

Laura Shevlin
+ 41 79 529 92 87
lshevlin@gavi.org

Cirũ Kariũki
+41 79 913 94 41
ckariuki@gavi.org

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