[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 511 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 511
Supporting the role of the United States in helping save the lives of
children and protecting the health of people in developing countries
with vaccines and immunization through GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2020
Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Collins, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs.
Shaheen, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Merkley)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
June 3, 2020
Reported by Mr. Risch, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
June 16, 2020
Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the role of the United States in helping save the lives of
children and protecting the health of people in developing countries
with vaccines and immunization through GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
Whereas access to vaccines and routine immunizations can protect children from
deadly but preventable diseases, reduce poverty, and contribute to
economic growth by enabling people to live longer, healthier, and more
productive lives;
Whereas investments in the development and deployment of vaccines and
immunizations can also help enhance global health security by reducing
the incidence of deadly and debilitating diseases and containing the
spread of infectious diseases before they become pandemic health
threats;
Whereas, prior to 2000, resources for and access to vaccines for children in the
developing world were declining, immunization rates were stagnant or
decreasing, and nearly 10,000,000 children were dying each year before
reaching their 5th birthday;
Whereas, prior to 2000, it was common for new life-saving vaccines to take up to
15 years to be introduced in the world's least developed countries;
Whereas, in 2000, the United States Government joined forces with the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),
the World Health Organization, the World Bank, other donor governments,
and representatives of developing countries, faith-based organizations,
civil society, and the private sector, including the vaccine industry,
to create the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (now known
as GAVI or GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance), a public-private partnership to
expand access to new and underused vaccines, reduce the incidence of
deadly and debilitating diseases, prevent epidemics, and save lives;
Whereas GAVI has since supported country-led vaccine initiatives in 73
countries, enabled immunizations for more than 760,000,000 of the
world's most vulnerable children, helped avert an estimated 13,000,000
deaths, and contributed to a 70-percent reduction in the number of
deaths due to vaccine-preventable diseases;
Whereas country ownership and sustainability are at the core of the GAVI model,
which requires each eligible country to commit their own domestic
resources to vaccination and immunization programs;
Whereas 15 countries have transitioned from GAVI support and are now self-
financing their own vaccination and immunization programs, 3 more are
expected to transition by the end of 2020, and an additional 10
countries are expected to transition by 2025 (in total, 40 percent of
the original set of GAVI-eligible countries);
Whereas GAVI has transformed the market for vaccines by pooling demand from
developing countries, securing predictable financing, expanding the
global supplier base, enhancing the competitiveness and security of
supply chains, and creating efficiencies that are expected to generate
an estimated $900,000,000 in savings between 2021 and 2025;
Whereas, in addition to its current portfolio of vaccines, GAVI is working to
support the roll-out and scale-up of newly approved vaccines for
diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) boosters, hepatitis B birth
dose, multivalent meningococcal, respiratory syncytia (RSV), routine
oral cholera, and rabies;
Whereas GAVI also collaborates with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to
bring polio vaccines into routine immunization programs, strengthen
health systems, and implement additional polio protections;
Whereas GAVI has made significant progress in supporting the development and
stockpiling of an effective vaccine to combat Ebola;
Whereas GAVI is participating in efforts to test and implement an effective
vaccine to prevent malaria, a disease that kills more than 270,000
children a year;
Whereas GAVI is already helping countries maintain life-saving immunization
programs in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to prevent
multiple outbreaks and further loss of life from vaccine-preventable
diseases;
Whereas GAVI also is working to help countries meet the threat of COVID-19 by
providing vital resources, training, and supplies to help protect health
workers and expand access to diagnostic testing;
Whereas GAVI will play a critical role in helping to rebuild immunization
systems so that once the immediate crisis is over, catch-up immunization
campaigns can begin and COVID-19 vaccines can be introduced;
Whereas, in April 2020, GAVI joined the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, a
collaboration of global health organizations aimed at accelerating
development, production, and equitable access to new COVID-19
technologies, serving as the co-lead of the vaccines work stream within
the initiative;
Whereas, on June 4, 2020, the United Kingdom will host an online virtual Global
Vaccine Summit, GAVI's third replenishment conference, with an ambitious
goal to raise $7,400,000,000 in new donor commitments;
Whereas, with these additional resources, GAVI plans to support the immunization
of 300,000,000 children against potentially fatal diseases and save an
additional 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 lives between 2021 and 2025; and
Whereas the United States has been a leading supporter of GAVI since its
inception, and its continued commitment will be essential to the
achievement of the alliance's goals for 2021 through 2025: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) commends the work of GAVI and its partners for their
efforts to expand access to vaccines and immunizations for the
most vulnerable men, women, and children in developing
countries;
(2) affirms the continued support of the United States
Government for GAVI as an efficient and effective mechanism to
advance global health security and save lives by--
(A) reducing the incidence of deadly and
debilitating diseases;
(B) leveraging donor, partner country, and private
sector investments in health systems capable of
sustainably delivering vaccines and immunizations; and
(C) reducing the cost of vaccines while promoting
supply chain security and sustainability;
(3) affirms the support of the United States Government for
the goal of securing at least $7,400,000,000 in donor
commitments for GAVI's third replenishment conference, to be
held on June 4, 2020, hosted by the United Kingdom;
(4) urges donor countries and private sector partners to
step up the fight against vaccine-preventable deaths and
increase their pledges for the third replenishment conference;
(5) urges GAVI partner countries to continue to make and
meet ambitious co-financing commitments to sustain progress in
ending vaccine-preventable deaths; and
(6) encourages the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, in cooperation with GAVI, to continue their work to
strengthen public health capacity to introduce and sustain the
use of new and underused vaccines in routine immunization
programs.
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