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• One of the first COVAX funders and first dose donors, New Zealand has again stepped up and pledged NZ$ 9 million in funding to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC). This funding will help COVAX better respond to country needs in 2022.

• Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand: “Aotearoa New Zealand is a strong supporter of COVAX and the critical work it does. This further contribution to the COVAX AMC is part of our global COVID-19 response and ensures that more people in developing countries are able to protect themselves and their families.”

• Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, Gavi Managing Director for Resource Mobilisation, Private Sector Partnerships and Innovative Finance: “As COVAX works to accelerate its work and guarantee certainty of supply, New Zealand is first donor to pledge funding as part of the new Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC) fundraising round – this NZ$ 9 million funding commitment is a renewed vote of confidence in COVAX and equitable access to vaccines as we open our fundraising cycle for next year.”

Geneva, 2 December 2021 – The Government of New Zealand has become the first donor to pledge 2022 funding for COVAX, with a commitment of NZ$ 9 million to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC). This funding is destined to support COVAX deliveries, allowing for tailored support for countries with very different needs throughout the coming year.

Alongside continued support for acquiring additional doses for COVAX, New Zealand's pledge recognises the need to ensure countries can absorb and roll out doses while continuing to offer routine immunisation and other healthcare services. This pledge builds on strong existing commitment to COVAX by the Government of New Zealand, which committed funding to COVID-19 vaccination as early as May 2020 and was also one of the pioneers of dose-sharing through COVAX.

“Aotearoa New Zealand is a strong supporter of COVAX and the critical work it does,” said Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. “This further contribution to the COVAX AMC is part of our global COVID-19 response and ensures that more people in developing countries are able to protect themselves and their families.”

“As COVAX works to accelerate its work and guarantee certainty of supply, New Zealand is first donor to pledge funding as part of the new Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC) fundraising round,” added Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao, Gavi Managing Director for Resource Mobilisation, Private Sector Partnerships and Innovative Finance. “This NZ$ 9 million funding commitment is a renewed vote of confidence in COVAX and equitable access to vaccines as we open our fundraising cycle for next year.”

New Zealand’s commitment comes as COVAX has delivered over 580 million doses to 144 countries around the world, and is working to vaccinate as many people as possible in the final months of 2021 and onward through 2022. To close the vaccine equity gap and protect vulnerable populations everywhere, COVAX needs continued support from donors, manufacturers and recipient governments to ensure that we can secure, procure, deliver and roll out as many doses as possible.

Notes to editors

About COVAX

COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO – working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, PAHO, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both high-income and lower-income countries.

Gavi’s role in COVAX

Gavi leads on procurement and delivery at scale for COVAX: designing and managing the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its traditional Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. As part of this role, Gavi hosts the Office of the COVAX Facility to coordinate the operation and governance of the mechanism as a whole, holds financial and legal relationships with 193 Facility participants, and manages the COVAX Facility deals portfolio: negotiating advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of promising vaccine candidates to secure doses on behalf of all COVAX Facility participants. Gavi also coordinates design, operationalisation and fundraising for the Gavi COVAX AMC, the mechanism that provides access to donor-funded doses of vaccine to 92 lower-income economies. As part of this work, Gavi provides funding and oversight for UNICEF procurement and delivery of vaccines to all AMC participants -- operationalising the advance purchase agreements between Gavi and manufacturers -- as well as support for partners' and governments work on readiness and delivery. This includes tailored support to governments, UNICEF, WHO and other partners for cold chain equipment, technical assistance, syringes, vehicles, and other aspects of the vastly complex logistical operation for delivery. Gavi also co-designed, raises funds for and supports the operationalisation of the AMC's no-fault compensation mechanism as well as the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer.

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation -- over 888 million children -- and prevented more than 15 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology -- from drones to biometrics -- to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Gavi is a co-convener of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, together with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In its role Gavi is focused on procurement and delivery for COVAX: coordinating the design, implementation and administration of the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.

MEDIA CONTACTS Evan O’Connell +41 79 682 18 95 eoconnell@gavi.org

Iryna Mazur +41 79 429 3671 imazur@gavi.org

Meg Sharafudeen +41 79 711 55 54 msharafudeen@gavi.org

Laura Shevlin

• 41 79 529 92 87 lshevlin@gavi.org

Cirũ Kariũki +41 79 913 94 41 ckariuki@gavi.org