The Chief of Gavi said Thursday that the organization that vaccines children in the poorest countries in the world, was “disappointed” after Washington announced that it was obtaining funds in a incendiary video questioning their safety standards.
A Brussels summit held by the group to raise money on Wednesday was eclipsed by a video message sent by the United States Secretary of Health, Robert F Kennedy JR, who raised radical vaccines security doubts without evidence and announced the end of Washington’s support.
“We were disappointed to see the video,” said Gavi’s executive director, Sania Nishtar AFP In a telephone interview.
“Of course, we do not agree with many of the things that were narrated in the video. It is unfortunate, but we expect a positive relationship with the United States. We will continue to involve them.”
The financing withdrawal of the United States occurs when Gavi and the United Nations reported in April that outbreaks of preventable vaccines, such as measles, meningitis and yellow fever, are increasing worldwide in the midst of erroneous information and cuts to international aid.
Gavi obtained more than $ 9 billion (7.7 BN euros) in promises on Wednesday, below the $ 11.9 billion of the group said he needed to finance their operations over the next five years, when he expects to “protect 500 children from children from preventable diseases.”
However, Nishtar said it was a “positive result” at a time when many donors had other priorities, including defense spending, and international aid as a whole is in decline.
Despite Washington’s support, Gavi was “in a very good position,” he added. Currently, the United States contributes about 13 percent of the central budget of the group.
Attacker
On Wednesday, Kennedy, who spent decades spreading the erroneous information of the vaccine before becoming the senior health official of President Donald Trump, said that the United States “will not contribute anymore” until Gavi returns to collect the “public confidence.”
In an scorching attack, he accused the group of promoting unsafe vaccines in the developing world.
“When vaccine security problems have been presented before Gavi, Gavi has treated them not as a patient’s health problem, but as a public relations problem,” Kennedy said in a clip that was reproduced at the summit.
“In his zeal to promote universal vaccination, he has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety,” he added.
It followed in particular concerns about a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and whore cough, known as DTPW, which is widely used in low -income nations.
Gavi replied that the DTPW vaccine is used in developing nations such as the loading of the disease, there is much more than in parts of the world of high income.
The shot is more powerful, with more durable effects than the alternative used in the West, he added.
“In places where access to hospitals is limited and the risk of disease is high, the strongest protection against DTPW against these diseases that threaten life far exceeds the temporal side effects that this vaccine can cause,” Gavi said.
Nishtar also questioned the idea that his organization had to recover public confidence.
“We have so much demand for vaccines from the countries that we support that we cannot fulfill them. When you go to the field, you see women who align to vaccinate children,” he said.
“There is already immense confidence,” he added
European countries and the European Union jointly promised more than two billion euros to Gavi, according to Brussels. Another $ 1.6 billion were offered by the Gates Foundation of Microsoft, co -founder Bill Gates.
