The UK's pioneering role in IFFIm: Building on a legacy and continuing to lead*
The UK's pioneering role in IFFIm: Building on a legacy and continuing to lead*
8 May 2025
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For decades, the United Kingdom has been a champion of global health—especially in its efforts to find innovative solutions to ensure life-saving vaccines reach those who need them most. At the heart of this commitment is the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), an initiative forged by the UK to revolutionise global health financing. As a founding donor, the UK has played an indispensable role in solidifying this financial innovation to create lasting and sustainable change in global immunisation efforts.
A financial innovation that transformed global health
Formally established in 2006, IFFIm was the first mechanism of its kind and remains the only global health financing platform backed by long-term, legally binding pledges from sovereign donors. It devised a distinct approach to leverage the global financial markets through bond issuances to frontload future cash inflows to immunise children today, thereby preventing future health emergencies, and avoiding larger health costs later. For six consecutive years, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has awarded IFFIm an A+ rating, underscoring its effectiveness in delivering results.
Since its inception, IFFIm has provided US$ 6.2 billion for Gavi programmes, ensuring that hundreds of millions of children in lower-income countries receive life-saving vaccines. The UK’s leadership and continued financial commitments have been instrumental in expanding immunisation coverage, strengthening health systems and responding to global health emergencies like Ebola and COVID-19.
IFFIm also supports vaccines that are high priorities for global health including HPV—US$ 132 million in financing which makes up more than 21% of Gavi’s overall financing for the vaccine. IFFIm has also financed malaria, providing US$ 33.3 million--more than 25% of the US$ 111 million deployed by Gavi to initiate delivery of the vaccine in 17 countries.
IFFIm and the private sector
Beyond government commitments, UK private institutions have also played a crucial role for IFFIm. As a UK charity, IFFIm partners with British businesses like Linklaters and Slaughter and May for legal advisory services. Additionally, financial institutions such as Standard Chartered, HSBC and Barclays have served as arranging banks for major bond issues. IFFIm attracts investment from domestic and international investors, contributing to the UK’s financial market and reinforcing its position in global capital markets. In addition, IFFIm has also completed two successful bond issues in Pounds Sterling (in 2009 and 2022), which together raised a total of £516 million.
IFFIm’s success is testament to the UK’s leadership in combining financial expertise with social good.
A continuing partnership in global health
IFFIm’s impact illustrates the power of innovation, partnership and financial ingenuity in driving progress in global health and other key global priorities. Through its support to IFFIm, the UK not only has strengthened Gavi’s impact but also set a precedent for ways in which countries can collaborate to solve global challenges efficiently and sustainably.
*This article is the first in an 11-part series of IFFIm Donor Profiles.
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