[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1227-S1228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Collins, Ms. Cantwell, and 
Mrs. Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 511

       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

[[Page S1228]]

     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 fifth 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, the Vaccine Alliance 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, three 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 2021-2025;
       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, in June 2020, the United Kingdom will host 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 
     2021-2025: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the work of GAVI and its partners for their 
     efforts to expand access 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 a minimum of $7,400,000,000 in donor 
     commitments for GAVI's third replenishment, to be held in 
     June 2020 in the United Kingdom;
       (4) urges donor countries and private sector partners to 
     step up the fight and increase their pledges for the third 
     replenishment;
       (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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