Child mortality must be further reduced
Historical archive
Published under: Solberg's Government
Publisher: The Office of the Prime Minister
Press release | No: 22/2015 | Date: 27/01/2015
"Since 2000, the Vaccine Alliance Gavi has helped to vaccinate 500 million children and prevent six million deaths. Despite this, 1.5 million children are still dying every year from diseases that could easily be prevented. We must therefore intensify our efforts so that even more children are vaccinated and more children survive preventable diseases," said Prime Minister Erna Solberg at Gavi’s pledging conference in Berlin today.
The Government has decided to increase Norway’s contribution to Gavi to NOK 6.25 billion in the period 2016–20. This is an increase of 56 % from the period 2011–15.
"The world has made great progress in reducing child mortality. Immunisation is one of the best investments we can make to improve public health and help children realise their potential. Gavi is a good example of the results that can be achieved through cooperation between states and the private sector," said Ms Solberg
Gavi’s vision for the period 2016–20 is to vaccinate a further 300 million children and thus help to save another 5–6 million lives.
"Gavi is a good example of an innovative partnership and part of a modern development policy. Recipient countries play an active role in the partnership, for example by co-financing purchases of vaccines," said Ms Solberg.
As countries become more prosperous, they take on more and more responsibility for funding their own vaccination programmes.
"A healthy, well educated population is essential for economic growth in any country. Basic health services and vaccines are vital for ensuring that children are able to go to school. And conversely, having an education has a huge impact on health. For instance, we know that well-educated mothers are more likely to ensure that their children are vaccinated," said Ms Solberg.