Health
SPAIN Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares opened the Global Vaccine Impact Conference in Madrid today to look at the progress of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in reaching populations across 57 lower-income countries with life-saving vaccines.
The Global Vaccine Impact Conference takes place every five years – and the 2023 edition, co-hosted by the Spanish Government and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, brings together heads of state, government ministers and senior officials from Gavi implementing and donor countries. In total, over 200 attendees will participate in the conference, representing government, civil society, the private sector, Vaccine Alliance partners and other global health stakeholders. The conference is an opportunity to look at the state of global vaccination and set out goals for the coming years.
“Spain considers Global Health as a priority to achieve human development and the well-being of our societies,” said José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
Co-chaired by Prof José Manuel Barroso, Gavi Board Chair, the conference opened with an inaugural address by the Foreign Minister of Spain, followed by addresses by H.E. Mr João Lourenço, President of Angola; Dr Seth Berkley, CEO, Gavi; Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO; and Ms Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF.
Running from 13 to 15 June, other flagship sessions at the conference will focus on how Gavi is progressing towards its global vaccination goals; the power of private sector partnership, emerging immunisation priorities such as for HPV and malaria, supporting countries on epidemic/pandemic preparedness and how the Alliance can help fight climate change.
“As Spain prepares to kick off its EU presidency, we thank the Spanish Government for its leadership in global health and its partnership as we mark this major milestone for the Vaccine Alliance,” said Prof José Manuel Barroso, Gavi Board Chair. “We are grateful to all the heads of state and government ministers along with leaders from civil society and the private sector who, by joining us in Madrid, are recommitting to life-saving immunisation.”
The Global Vaccine Impact Conference is the first in-person conference on the state of global vaccination since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It saw the publication of a new report, Raising Generation ImmUnity, on progress made since 2020 on immunisation goals – including new statistics pointing to a worldwide recovery in routine immunisation in 2022. Access the programme here.
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Tags: Dr Seth Berkley GAVI Gavi; Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus José Manuel Albares Ms Catherine Russell UNICEF WHO
