Mfarhanonline:Donors pledge $4.3bn for child vaccines

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Mfarhanonline News LONDON: International donors pledged $4.3 billion to vaccinate nearly 250 million children against life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, at a London conference.

GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) said the funding would save more than four million lives over the next four years.

Britain pledged £814 million ($1.3 billion, 920 million euros) in additional funding and Gates said his charitable foundation would add another $1 billion over five years.

The pledges surpassed the $3.7 billion (5.3 billion euro) target set by GAVI.

Among other donors, Norway gave $677 million and the United States pledged $450 million, while Brazil and Japan donated to GAVI for the first time. Brazil said it would give $12 million from 2011 to 2015 and Japan pledged $9 million.

GAVI is aiming to immunise 243 million more children by 2015.

It has already vaccinated 288 million children in 19 countries and now wants to extend the programme of jabs to another 26 countries.

Pneumonia and diarrhoea kill three times as many children under the age of five as HIV/AIDS even though vaccines are available to prevent such deaths.

Many developing countries cannot afford the vaccines.(AFP)

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