Policy Updates

On June 20, 2024, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron attended the Gavi Investment Opportunity and AVMA launch in Paris, France, and pledged to reallocate GBP49 million (US$58 million) to Gavi’s newly launched AVMA through reallocated COVID-19 funding already committed to Gavi.

Co-hosted by Gavi, the African Union, and France, the event saw Gavi lay out its investment case for 2026 and 2030 and call for US$9 billion in new donor funding.

The UK did not make an early pledge to Gavi’s new replenishment, unlike the US, France, Spain, and some philanthropic providers, which committed a total of US$2.4 billion. Gavi is set to engage in an intense period of fundraising with a view to hosting a final pledging event in 7 to 12 months.

Since the creation of Gavi, the UK has invested GBP5.5 billion (US$7 billion) in the organization, helping to vaccinate over a billion children and save millions of lives.

The UK did not provide an early pledge to Gavi's 2026-2030 replenishment.

On May 23-25, 2024, the G7 Ministers of Finance met at a summit in Stresa, Italy, where the ministers voiced support for contributions to the IDA, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund in the resulting communiqué.

The G7 ministers supported efforts towards a successful 21^st replenishment of the IDA by the end of 2024 through an ambitious policy and financing package. Notably, they did not give a concrete signal that the critical US$100 billion threshold requested by the World Bank will be crossed, nor any indication of the US$120 billion expected by African leaders.

The ministers reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the governance and finance of the global health architecture and voiced support for refinancing processes of several GHIs, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, and the Global Fund, and expressed support for the Pandemic Fund. The communiqué called on the donor community to coordinate efforts and increase investments in global health in line with their capacities to ensure sustainable funding and maximize the impact of available resources.

Following the summit, the C7 pointed out the G7's lack of ambition and financial commitment to international development, including climate adaptation. International civil society organizations criticized the lack of any reference to allocating SDRs to global solidarity.

On May 14-15, 2024, the C7 summit was held at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, organized by the Italian Civil Society Coalition that led, coordinated, and moderated the C7 2024 process.

Approximately 400 global representatives took part in the event, as well as international decision-makers, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Italian G7 sherpa Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, Cardinal, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Pope’s envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Matteo Maria Zuppi, and Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign Marina Ponti.

The official C7 communiqué that listed the international civil society recommendation to the G7’s Leaders around seven key issues was released at the event, which included:

• Economic justice and transformation;
• Climate, energy transformation, and environmental justice;
• Global health;
• Principled humanitarian assistance;
• Peace, common security, and nuclear disarmament;
• Human mobility and migration; and
• Food justice and food systems transformation.

On April 25, 2024, France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that France will be hosting a Global Forum on vaccine sovereignty and innovation on June 20, 2024.

The event will take place in Paris and be co-hosted by the AU and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The forum was outlined as having two main objectives:

• It will launch the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator: The accelerator will provide funding for regional vaccine manufacturing on the African continent. Conceived by Gavi in close consultation with African disease prevention and control centers, it will contribute to the AU’s goal of manufacturing at least 60% of the vaccine doses needed by Africa on the African continent by 2040; and
• It will mark the start of Gavi’s replenishment campaign for 2026-2030: Gavi enables significant progress possible in the fight against such infectious diseases as malaria, dengue and cholera, whose risks of spreading are increased by climate disruption. It also contributes to better prevention of cervical cancer in women and girls.

On April 24, 2024, during World Immunization Week, Action Santé Mondiale, in collaboration with AMREF Health Africa France, Global Citizen, ONE, and UNICEF, launched the campaign A Dose of Solidarity, which aims to mobilize the international community and French policymakers on global vaccination issues and to highlight the commitment of civil society to the cause.

The statement highlighted that in the last 50 years, global vaccination campaigns have contributed to a reduction of over 80% in child mortality. It also noted that vaccination is recognized as one of the most effective and cost-efficient public health interventions, preventing between 3.5 and 5 million deaths per year.

The campaign stated that France's hosting of Gavi's investment plan launch on June 20, 2024, presents a unique opportunity to support global vaccination efforts in line with France's historical commitment to the cause. Since its creation in 2000, Gavi has been facilitating the introduction of new vaccines in LICs. With the launch of the AVMA, the organization is committed to supporting the decentralization of vaccine production to reduce inequalities in access to vaccination at the global level.

On March 28, 2024, France announced it will host the next edition of the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris on March 27 and 28, 2025.

The summit aims to mobilize the international community, including private actors and civil society, in favor of nutrition and to achieve the UN SDGs.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in the announcement that malnutrition problems are worsening worldwide, including undernutrition, food deficiencies and obesity.

France announced its continued commitment to nutrition through its international strategy for food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture from 2019-2024. It highlighted concrete actions to improve the nutrition of vulnerable populations, including food assistance, the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal and Child Health, and the actions of the AFD in the health, agriculture, and WASH sectors.

On March 21, 2024, the EU announced a contribution of EUR268 million (USS$290 million) at the EU - LAC High-Level Event on Inclusive Human Development and Equitable Access to Health Products.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Uprilainen announced the investment, made in cooperation with France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden. The finance aims to mobilize EUR1 billion (US$1 billion) to support access to basic social services and rights and increase the transparency and accountability of government agencies.

The contribution was made in line with broader :abbrEU - CELAC cooperation, which aims to mobilize over EUR45 billion (US$49 billion) from 2024-2027 to support the SDGs and other efforts in the region.

On March 20, 2024, the EU and the Belgian Council presidency announced a joint contribution of EUR14 million (US$15 million) for the African Medicines Agency and launched three global health partnership programs.

The support, announced at the high-level event on EU – AU partnership on Global Health for equitable access, comprised EUR10 million (US$11 million) from the Commission and EUR4 million (US$4 million) from Belgium. The support aims to advance the establishment of the African Medicines Agency, particularly as an end to strengthening vaccine production and health innovation.

In addition, the event marked the launch of three Team Europe initiatives on:

• Sustainable Health Security, which aims to increase PPR among African partner countries, with a specific focus on AMR and other infectious diseases, and will receive EUR128 million (US$129 million) from the 2021-2027 budget;
• Support to Public Health Institutes in Africa, which aims to bolster UHC and reduce health access inequalities and received an allocation of EUR50 million (US$54 million) from 2024-2027; and
• Digital Health, focusing on reducing health disparities and advancing UHC and PPR through technological and practical innovation, which received EUR87 million (US$94 million) from 2024-2027.

On March 14, 2024, the French AI Commission delivered a report to French President Emmanuel Macron, containing 25 recommendations for France to take advantage of the technological revolution of AI.

France announced in November 2023 that it will host the AI Safety Summit in December 2024.

The report includes objectives to be led by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Europe and the Ministry of Health on:

• Making France a pioneer of AI for the planet by reinforcing environmental transparency, research into low-impact models, and utilizing AI in the service of energy and environmental transitions;
• Structuring a coherent and concrete diplomatic initiative aimed at establishing a global governance of AI;
• Facilitating data flow, sharing of practices, and evaluation to leverage the benefits of AI in healthcare, improving the provision of care and the daily lives of healthcare professionals; and
• Encouraging individual use, large-scale experimentation, and evaluation of AI tools to strengthen the public education service and improve the daily lives of educational teams.

On February 27, 2024, 102 French NGOs signed an op-ed published in Le Monde.

The article called out France’s February 2024 budget cut of EUR742 million (US$804 million). CSOs argued the cut goes against Macron's 2021 Development Law, which set France on the path to acheiving a 0.7% ODA/GNI ratio. The article stated that by reducing its financial commitments, France had reduced its influence on the international stage at a time when it should be reaffirming its support to multilateralism and CSOs.

The article also underscored the impact that the cut would have on the poorest countries, highlighting projects across sectors that would be reduced or cut due to diminished funding.

Led by Coordination Sud President Olivier Bruyeron, signatures included:

• UNICEF France President Adeline Hazan;
• ONE France President Najat Vallaud-Belkacem;
• Action contre la Faim President Aïcha Koraïchi;
• Oxfam Director General Cécile Duflot;
• WWF Director General Véronique Andrieux;
• Secours catholique Director General Adélaide Bertrand;
• Mouvement pour le planning familial Director Sarah Durocher;
• Handicap International Director Manuel Patrouillard;
• Global Citizen Vice-President for International Advocacy Friederike Röder;
• Equipop Executive Director Aurélie Gal-Régniez;
• CARE France co-directors Emanuela Croce and Alexandre Morel;
• AMREF Health Africa Josselin Léon;
• Friends of the Global Fund Executive Director Hélène Berger; and
• Action Santé Mondial Director Patrick Bertrand.