Dear world leaders

Feb 11, 2020

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This June, leaders from around the world will gather at Gavi’s 3rd donor pledging conference. One of the big questions they will be asked:

Will you approve $7.4 billion in financing for another five years of vaccines delivered to children worldwide through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance?

At DefeatDD, our answer is clear: HECK YES!

The value of vaccines is hard to argue. Vaccines save 2-3 million lives per year, and they are one of the most cost-effective health interventions around. Even beyond saving lives, vaccines also help to create the conditions that allow kids to move out of poverty, simply because those children have grown up to be healthier.

Sadly, there are still some kids – particularly in the world’s poorest areas – who don’t have access to the vaccines that can help give them a chance to create healthy, happy lives. You might have gotten a vaccine “booster”? Well, for kids in these communities, even one vaccine can provide the boost to a better life.

 At DefeatDD, vaccines against diarrhea pathogens are a staple of our whole-child approach to healthier kids. In the last decade, we’ve seen vaccines against rotavirus make a significant impact. Researchers are also hard at work on vaccines against ETEC and Shigella, the leading causes of bacterial diarrhea and common sources of long-lasting damage that can stunt growth.

And if funding is secured in June, Gavi will commit more resources to vaccines against cholera – one of the scariest forms of diarrhea due to how rapidly it spreads. 

If you agree with us that, come June, world leaders should say “yes” to five more years of vaccine funding, then there’s something you can do right now to help make it happen.

Sign this petition to world leaders, started by the ONE Campaign.

We’ve already signed our names in BOLD. Will you put yours next to ours?

Please share this blog, repost, and retweet to tell others how they can help, too.