More than 650 GAVI Alliance partners gather in United Republic of Tanzania

Middle Eastern countries, especially the UAE, saw a strong representation at the gathering, driven by the fact that H.H. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, had donated $33m to the GAVI alliance for vaccination in Afghanistan.

Among the participating delegates from the Middle East were Ziad Fares, Director of Strategic Affairs, Crown Prince Court, Abu Dhabi, who joined other GAVI Board members on a site visit; Douda Malle, Director, Human Development Department, Islamic Development Bank; Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, Minister of Health of Sudan; Dr. Majid Al Jonaid, Deputy Minister of Public Health and Population of Yemen; Dr Saleh Banoita Tourab, Deputy Minister of Health of Djibouti; and Secretary Generals of health from Comoros and Mauritania are among over 650 participants from across the globe.

Since it was set up in 2000, the GAVI Alliance has supported countries to protect an additional 370 million children from potentially fatal diseases, and prevented more than 5.5 million future deaths. Progress in preventing disease has accelerated in the past three years, as new vaccines are introduced rapidly into the developing countries where they are most urgently needed.

"In the past three years, the GAVI Alliance has introduced new vaccines to protect children against the major causes of pneumonia and diarrhoea. We are extremely proud of our achievements," said GAVI Board Chair Dagfinn Høybråten, who was re-appointed for another two-year term on Tuesday.

During the event, the Tanzanian government simultaneously introduced two new vaccines to protect its children. One against pneumococcal disease - the primary cause of death from pneumonia in children under five - and the other against rotavirus, a leading cause of diarrhoeal disease.

As of this week, pneumococcal vaccine has been introduced into 24 GAVI-eligible countries and rotavirus vaccine in 12 countries within the past three years, providing vital protection to some of the poorest children in the world.

"Children in Tanzania are being protected in record time," said Minister of Health and Social Welfare Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi. "Thanks to the support of the GAVI Alliance, we can provide our children with the same vaccines as those given to children in the industrialised world."

Routine immunisation continues to be an important focus for GAVI, especially in countries with the greatest number of under-vaccinated children. From 2013, GAVI will also be supporting countries to reduce the impact of measles and rubella through the use of a combined vaccine. Measles continues to cause high levels of mortality and disability in developing countries. Rubella is a major cause of stillbirths and miscarriages, as well as congenital disability.

GAVI continues to work with manufacturers to enhance their contribution to GAVI's mission. GAVI will purchase over 500 million doses of measles-rubella (MR) vaccine over the next four years. Serum Institute of India is announcing today that it has offered to provide for free an additional 20 million doses, which will bring the average price to $0.55 per dose. This will save GAVI $11m.

"The GAVI Alliance is moving faster than ever to deliver the benefits of immunisation to children, their families and their communities," said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance.

"This is a partnership that delivers results through innovative methods based on sustainable financing and increasing access to immunisation."

The GAVI Alliance Partners' Forum brought together more than 650 members and supporters of the alliance, including global health leaders, government ministers and civil society organisations. They discussed their collective achievements and addressing the challenges that remain so that all children can benefit from the power of immunisation.