Italy reaffirms support of Gavi and CEPI with €5 million grant to IFFIm

Italy reaffirms support of Gavi and CEPI with €5 million grant to IFFIm

26 January 2021

Italy’s new grant will provide immediate funding for CEPI’s COVID-19 vaccine research and development programme.

  • Italy’s new grant will provide immediate funding for CEPI’s COVID-19 vaccine research and development programme
  • The funding adds to Italy’s €150 million pledge to IFFIm during the 2020 Global Vaccine Summit and brings its total IFFIm commitments to €654 million
  • Italy is one of IFFIm’s founders and leading donors

London, 26 January 2021 - Italy has committed €5 million to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) to provide expedited funding for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The funding is part of Italy’s €10 million contribution to CEPI announced in May 2020 that will support CEPI’s work on research and development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, including its COVID-19 programme.

CEPI is an Oslo-based public private initiative that accelerates development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases and enables equitable access to these vaccines during outbreaks. As part of the value chain of vaccine development and delivery, CEPI complements Gavi’s broader life-saving mission. With Gavi and the World Health Organisation (WHO), CEPI co-leads COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. CEPI also leads the COVAX vaccine research and development portfolio, investing across a variety of promising candidates.

This latest funding extends Italy’s commitment to immunisation and vaccine development. Italy announced at the June 2020 Global Vaccine Summit that it would provide €150 million to IFFIm, bringing its total IFFIm commitments to €654 million. In addition to its support through IFFIm, Italy pledged €100 million in direct funding to Gavi 5.0.

Italy is one of IFFIm’s initial donors and took a leading role in launching the first Advance Market Commitment to accelerate the development and availability of pneumococcal vaccines. It was the largest donor to the AMC with a pledge of US$ 635 million. Italy has currently committed more than US$ 100 million to the new Gavi COVAX AMC.

About IFFIm

IFFIm is an independent UK charity established in 2006 in support of Gavi as a way to accelerate funding for immunisation in the world’s poorest countries. IFFIm has been instrumental in accelerating Gavi’s impact and safeguarding financial flexibility. Since 2006, IFFIm has leveraged donor pledges to issue Vaccines Bonds on global capital markets, generating more than US$ 6.2 billion through 35 issuances in eight currencies. IFFIm is widely regarded as a pioneering social bond issuer, and Vaccines Bonds have enjoyed strong demand from socially responsible investors due to the clarity and focus of Gavi’s mission.

Media contacts

James Fulker, Media Manager
Mob: +41 79 429 55 05
Email: jfulker@gavi.org

Jeff Weintraub, Media Relations Consultant (U.S.)
Mob: +1-202-403-7695
Email: jweintraub@gavi.org

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