The UK Government pledges an additional £2m for malaria vaccines & £10m for further research

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron, has today announced additional support for funding malaria vaccine deployment. 

In response to the news that the UK Government has today announced it will be matching the first £2million of new pledges from the private sector to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Gareth Jenkins, Director of Advocacy and Strategy at Malaria No More UK said:

“We welcome the fantastic news that the UK Government has today announced it will match the first £2 million of new pledges from the private sector to fund the delivery of malaria vaccines to children at risk of this deadly disease. We also warmly welcome the additional £10 million the Foreign Secretary has pledged for further research into how best to ensure the most effective deployment of the new malaria vaccines.

“We should be proud of the UK institutions, British-based GSK and Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, that have led the way in the development of the world’s first effective malaria vaccines. 

“As the Foreign Secretary rightly makes clear, the vaccines can only achieve their full effectiveness if they are properly deployed with other vital tools such as bed nets and other preventative and treatment interventions. 

“That’s why it’s vital that next year, when the world decides how much to invest in global vaccines and malaria programmes through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, there is full co-ordination between the two, and both receive the money that they need. Only with the right investment can we ensure that the new tools that are ready to be deployed - many of which were invented in the UK – can be delivered in a way that maximises the number of children’s lives saved and health security for countries around the world. 

“The UK has a huge opportunity to influence this outcome, and the Foreign Secretary’s statement today shows just the determination we need to get leaders back on track to a malaria free world.”