Schiff, Meeks Urge President Biden to Make Bold Commitment to Vaccine Alliance
Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.) urged President Biden to boldly fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in a letter sent to President Biden. Gavi’s routine child immunization programs have vaccinated more than one billion children in 78 countries, preventing more than 17 million child deaths.
“As you know, U.S. support for Gavi has for decades had strong bipartisan support. In 2014, we were proud to support President Obama in his historic $1 billion pledge to Gavi. Congress also helped lead the way in securing additional increases in funding for Gavi under the Trump Administration. We are eager to support your administration and are encouraged by your commitment to make a multi-year pledge in support of this year’s replenishment, which we hope will be no less than $1.4 billion over the next four years,” wrote the lawmakers.
“For the past two fiscal years, more than 135 members of Congress – from both sides of the aisle – have signed letters calling for boosting funding for Gavi to $340 million annually, a nearly 20% increase since fiscal year 2023,” continued the lawmakers.
“As Gavi plans to roll out its next five-year phase of work, Congress stands ready to work with your Administration to increase U.S. leadership and support for Gavi. We recognize the many competing challenges of this moment, but we firmly believe in the tremendous value and impact of U.S. contributions to Gavi. Your Administration continues to lead the way on vaccine access globally, and we are eager to support you to extend that leadership even further,” concluded the lawmakers.
Read the full letter here.
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