“Saving one life is to save humanity itself.” – Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General
Vaccination is one of the greatest medical achievements of our time. Thanks to immunization the lives of millions of children have been saved all over the world.
As the world's safest method to protect children from life-threatening diseases, vaccines have reduced the scourge of diseases like polio and measles. Today, 4 million deaths worldwide are prevented by childhood vaccination every year.
But how did we get here? Just 24 years ago under half the world’s children had access to vaccine protection and the gap in childhood mortality between rich and poor countries was immense.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance was set up in 2000 to deliver vaccines to the poorest countries in the world, and support governments to improve their health systems. It was founded on the conviction that every child, no matter where they’re born, has a life of equal value, and a right to survival against preventable diseases.
Gavi has saved the lives of over 17 million of the world’s most vulnerable children. It demonstrates the best of what humans are capable of when we work together.
Take the quiz to find out more about Gavi’s world-changing work.