Netherlands to join innovative funding programme for immunisation

Netherlands to join innovative funding programme for immunisation

3 June 2009

The Netherlands has pledged Euros 80 million over eight years to an innovative financing initiative that converts long-term government pledges into immediate funds for children’s vaccination programmes.

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The Netherlands will join France, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom as the eighth government donor

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Washington, D.C., 3 June 2009 - The Netherlands has pledged Euros 80 million over eight years to an innovative financing initiative that converts long-term government pledges into immediate funds for children's vaccination programmes.

We hope our new commitment will inspire other leading donors to step up their support for GAVI's successful programmes to protect children in developing countries with life-saving vaccines.

Bert Koenders, Minister, Dutch Development

Eighth donor to IFFIm

The Netherlands will join France, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom as the eighth backer of the AAA-rated International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm). The announcement was made at the GAVI Alliance board meeting in Washington D.C. today.

In just three years, IFFIm has raised more than US$ 2 billion to support the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership working to boost immunisation in more than 70 developing countries.

"We hope our new commitment will inspire other leading donors to step up their support for GAVI's successful programmes to protect children in developing countries with life-saving vaccines. This is more important than ever in these times of financial crisis," Dutch Development Minister Bert Koenders said in a statement.

"IFFIm is a proven, effective mechanism for innovative financing for development and a platform where the public and private sector rally behind a common objective. Innovation and public private partnership are key elements of my policy for modernisation of development cooperation," he added.

Funds raised by IFFIm

"Once again, the Netherlands is showing leadership and driving the aid effectiveness agenda forward. By becoming an IFFIm donor, the Netherlands will help GAVI to save even more lives," said Dr Julian Lob-Levyt, CEO of the GAVI Alliance. "The funds raised by IFFIm are enabling GAVI to double our spending on immunisation programmes."

Since its debut benchmark offering in November 2006 when it raised US$ 1 billion from institutional investors on the international capital markets, IFFIm has raised another US$ 1.2 billion from institutional and retail investors mainly in Japan and the UK.

In May, IFFIm partnered with HSBC and RBS to raise £266 million (US$ 400 million) from British investors-five times more than anticipated. IFFIm has also raised US$ 572 million equivalent this year in two separate offerings to Japanese retail investors.

The Dutch pledge of Euros 80 million brings the total amount pledged to IFFIm to just over US$ 5.3 billion between 2006 and 2026. IFFIm, with the World Bank as its treasury manager, will use those legally-binding pledges to raise funds for GAVI programmes in a process described as "frontloading".

Second wave of commitments

IFFIm Chair Dr Alan Gillespie said he hoped the Dutch pledge would start a second wave of commitments to IFFIm from donor governments.

"We have proved that the IFFIm concept of frontloading money to boost immunisation works well," he said. "IFFIm harnesses the strength of the public and private sectors for development and we are pleased to see the Netherlands join IFFIm as a donor."

The Dutch government has pledged US$ 225 million in direct donations to GAVI from 2001 to 2010. Supporting IFFIm, however, has additional value for the Netherlands because of its desire to stimulate innovation and to involve the private sector in development.

The Dutch commitment comes at a critical time for GAVI. It needs to raise an additional US$ 400 million per year through 2015 in order to continue existing programmes and expand support especially for new vaccines against pneumococcal disease and rotavirus, two of the main child killers in the developing world.

About the GAVI Alliance

The GAVI Alliance is a public-private partnership that aims to immunise children and strengthen health systems in the world's poorest countries. It brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and technical agencies, NGOs, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and private philanthropists. GAVI provides vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis combined with haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis B as so-called pentavalent (five antigens in one vaccine) as well as vaccines against measles, yellow fever, pneumococcal diseases (pneumonia and meningitis) and rotavirus (diarrhoea).

About IFFIm

International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm) is a multilateral development institution created to accelerate the availability of predictable, long-term funds for health and immunisation programmes through the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) in 70 of the poorest countries around the world. IFFIm was created as a development financing tool to help the international community achieve the Millennium Development Goals. IFFIm's financial base consists of legally binding grants payments from its sovereign sponsors (France, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the UK), on the basis of which IFFIm's is rated AAA/Aaa/AAA (Fitch/Moody's/S&P). The World Bank is the Treasury Manager for IFFIm. IFFIm was established as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and is registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee with number 5857343 and as a charity with number 1115413.

About the World Bank

The World Bank is a global development cooperative owned by 187 member countries. Its purpose is to help its members achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and to find effective solutions to pressing regional and global problems in economic development and environmental sustainability. The goal is to help overcome poverty and improve standards of living for people worldwide. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), rated Aaa/AAA (Moody's/S&P), is the oldest and largest entity in the World Bank Group and provides funding, risk management tools and credit enhancement to sovereigns. To fund this activity, IBRD has been issuing debt securities in the international capital markets for 60 years. The World Bank is also the Treasury Manager for IFFIm. In that capacity, the World Bank, as IFFIm's agent, manages IFFIm's finances according to prudent policies and standards. This includes IFFIm's funding strategy and its implementation in the capital markets, rating agency and investor outreach, hedging transactions and investment management. The World Bank also coordinates with IFFIm's donors and manages their pledges and payments as well as IFFIm's disbursements for immunisation and health programmes through the GAVI Alliance.

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