• Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin donated US$ 30 million to support the Alliance’s response to COVID-19 and help protect the world against new outbreaks of other infectious diseases
• Cash donation is the first private sector contribution towards Gavi’s drive to raise at least US$ 7.4 billion to immunise 300 million children and save 8 million lives in the next five years
• Gavi is working to keep life-saving immunisation programmes running in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as investing hundreds of millions of dollars to help fragile health systems tackle the outbreak

Geneva, 17 April 2020 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance today announced a US$ 30 million donation from Reed Hastings, global entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of Netflix, and Patty Quillin.

Since its inception in 2000 Gavi has helped immunise more than 760 million people, saving 13 million lives. This was only made possible thanks to global partnerships and a business approach, embedded in the Gavi model, which leverages private sector investments, expertise, and innovation to accelerate immunisation impact while delivering enhanced efficiency and sustainable solutions at scale.

“As an organisation that firmly believes in the benefits of innovation to protect millions of children from preventable diseases, it is an honor to receive support from Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “While we are grateful for Reed and Patty’s support as Gavi seeks to protect the next generation of children and help the world fight back against COVID-19, we are also inspired that they recognise in Gavi the same drive to innovate as they have built their careers on.” 

The support of Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin comes at a crucial time for global public health as the COVID-19 pandemic is quickly taking hold in developing countries, where the impact could be catastrophic. Drawing upon the power of its public private partnership model, Gavi is playing a critical role in supporting the first line of defence against the pandemic by keeping vital immunisation programmes going, so that other infectious diseases can be kept under control. Gavi will also help fast-track coronavirus vaccine development by leveraging its innovative financing instruments, helping prepare for manufacturing at scale, as well as procurement and delivery of vaccines to countries. Gavi will further leverage its unique experience to ensure that once a vaccine is available, it reaches the populations who most need it as soon as possible.

"Global immunisation is vital to ending this terrible pandemic and Gavi’s hard-fought gains in this area will help prevent more lost lives and livelihoods,” said Reed Hastings. “We hope that our contribution will help those most in need, but also to inspire other businesses, entrepreneurs and organizations to join in this urgent effort.”

Notes to editors

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 760 million children – and prevented more than 13 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 developing 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.

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.

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