The International Finance Facility for Immunisation was set up in 2006 to rapidly accelerate the availability and predictability of funds for GAVI's immunisation programmes
Vaccine bonds
The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) uses long-term pledges from donor governments to sell 'vaccine bonds' in the capital markets, making large volumes of funds immediately available for GAVI programmes.
Launched in 2006, IFFIm was the first aid-financing entity in history to attract legally-binding commitments of up to 20 years from donors and offers the "predictability" that developing countries need to make long-term budget and planning decisions about immunisation programmes.
Doubling existing support
IFFIm's investors can measure their return not only in terms of a market-based interest rate but also the lives they have helped save from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Alan Gillespie, IFFIm Board Chair
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IFFIm has transformed GAVI’s financial landscape, doubling existing support for countries from 2006-2010.
IFFIm benefits from US$ 6.3 billion in donor contributions over 23 years from the governments of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Norway, Australia, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden and South Africa.
From capital markets in London 2006 to Tokyo in 2010, vaccine bonds have proved remarkably popular with institutional and individual investors search for a market-based return and an ethical investment opportunity.
With the World Bank as its treasury manager, IFFIm has raised more than US$ 3.6 billion to date - six times the donor funds received into the IFFIm account over the same period, demonstrating the power of frontloading the availability of the committed funds.
