Britain, Bill Gates boost child vaccine funding

 

 

 

Britain and Bill Gates joined forces yesterday to pledge more than half of the $3.7 billion sought to vaccinate nearly 250 million children against preventable diseases.


Prime Minister David Cameron told a donors' conference in London that Britain would contribute a further £814 million ($1.3 billion, 920 million euros) to GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation), an aid group backed by the Microsoft tycoon.


Cameron said the extra funds would help treat 80 million children against pneumonia and diarrhoea, and save 1.4 million lives.


Gates followed Cameron's pledge by saying his charitable foundation would commit an additional one billion dollars over five years.


It is expected that by the end of the one-day summit donations should exceed the $3.7 billion target.
Cameron said: "Today we come together because we have the chance to save another four million lives in four years.


"Frankly, the idea of children dying from pneumonia and diarrhoea should be absolutely unthinkable in 2011.
"But for many parents in the developing world it is a devastating reality."


The pledges have gone a long way towards making up the $3.7-billion funding shortfall as GAVI aims to immunise 243 million more children and avert four million deaths by 2015.

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Obama Backs Ban Ki-Moon's Bid For Second Term As UN Chief

The U.S. President Barack Obama has extended support to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his bid for a second term of office, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday.

"President Obama welcomes United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's announcement that he will run for a second term, and the United States supports his candidacy," it said.

According to the White House, under Ban's stewardship the U.N. performed key role of mediator as well as an arbiter in several vexatious issues all over the globe. A former South Korean Foreign Minister, Ban also broke new ground through steps to recruit more women to the U.N.'s higher echelons. Equally significant was his proposal to slash the U.N. budget by curtailing wasteful expenditure.

The 66-year-old had already won the backing of Britain, China and France. Now with the U.S. too supporting his candidature, his re-election could well become a foregone conclusion.

India had also announced its support to Ban's candidature. Incidentally during the 2007 election, Ban's main rival was the then U.N. diplomat and current Member of India's Parliament Shashi Tharoor.

Ban's current term runs through until December 31.

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