New Initiative: Gavi 6.0 Debuts with $9 Billion of Elite Support | Aiming to Inoculate 500 Million Children | Immunity from Legal Claims and Evasion of Responsibility
In a significant move towards global health security, leaders from 55 countries, including 10 heads of state, civil society groups, pharmaceutical executives, and vaccine industry insiders gathered at the Global Summit: Health and Prosperity through Immunisation in Brussels. The summit, co-hosted by the European Union (EU), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Gates Foundation, saw pledges totalling over $14.5 billion for Gavi's five-year strategic plan, Gavi 6.0 (2026–2030).
Gavi 6.0 aims to vaccinate 500 million children worldwide, preventing up to nine million deaths, stopping disease outbreaks, and strengthening health systems. This ambitious plan is expected to generate economic benefits exceeding $100 billion. The plan represents the final push towards achieving global immunisation and health security goals ahead of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) deadline.
The European Investment Bank expanded its €1 billion liquidity facility to Gavi, while the European Union and its member states, known collectively as Team Europe, pledged over €2 billion. Notably, Team Europe pledged an additional €800 million for African vaccine manufacturing acceleration. The Global Summit also saw significant contributions from the Gates Foundation, which pledged $1.6 billion, and the Kennedy-led HHS, which pledged $4.5 billion in "complementary financing" and new "cost savings" from vaccine manufacturers.
Gavi 6.0's key goals include expanding vaccine programmes and emergency stockpiles to prevent outbreak-prone diseases at their source, ensuring vaccine access for the world’s poorest countries, especially in future health crises, and supporting local vaccine manufacturing through regional partnerships to improve vaccine self-sufficiency.
The plan builds on previous successes, with over 1 billion children vaccinated and more than 18 million lives saved to date. African nations, some of which have transitioned from aid recipients to contributors, play a key role in this agenda. The scheme is also expected to unlock $100 billion in "economic benefits" for Gavi-aligned nations and stakeholders.
However, concerns have been raised about Gavi's approach to criticism and data transparency. Bill Gates recently provoked outrage by stating that he uses third-world nations, such as India, as a "laboratory" to test experimental "vaccines" before they are rolled out globally. Critics argue that the global apparatus supporting Gavi appears less interested in saving lives than in controlling populations through mass pharmaceutical intervention.
Despite these concerns, the pledges made at the Global Summit mark a significant step forward in global health security. Gavi aims to expand global stockpiles for experimental shots targeting Ebola, mpox, cholera, and other outbreak-prone pathogens. New private sector partnerships are being formed to overhaul immunization systems in low-income countries. With the funding now at over $14.5 billion, Gavi 6.0 is poised to make a substantial impact on global health and security in the coming years.
Science and health are at the forefront as Gavi 6.0, with the backing of $14.5 billion in pledges, strives to enhance global health security. This ambitious plan aims to vaccinate 500 million children worldwide, preventing up to nine million deaths, and strengthening health systems through science and health-and-wellness initiatives.
