The Challenge
In the developed world, protection from disease through immunisation is taken for granted. But every year in poorer countries, some 24 million children miss out on vaccinations against the most common diseases, making them vulnerable to sickness, disability and death.

Every year, approximately 2.3 million children die from easily-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and yellow fever -- a massive and inexcusable loss of human potential.

One of the main reasons for this global failure is a lack of predictable, long-term funding that allows developing countries to plan and implement programmes to protect and improve their children’s health.

The Solution
The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) exists to rapidly accelerate the availability and predictability of funds for immunisation.

The funds raised by IFFIm are used by the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership which aims to reduce the number of vaccine-preventable deaths and illness among children under five.

The GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) provides funds to purchase and deliver vaccines and strengthen health services in 72 of the world's poorest countries.

A total anticipated IFFIm disbursement of US$4 billion is expected to protect more than 500 million children through immunisation.

The additional resources raised by IFFIm ensure that GAVI can save lives by providing reliable and predictable funding over the long term.