PM to Join Virtual Global Vaccine Summit in UK June 4

Prime Minister Sheik Hasina is likely to join the Global Vaccine Summit, which will be held by the United Kingdom on 4 June, because countries across the world seek to avoid potential outbreaks of infection.

The Global Vaccine Summit will be an entirely virtual event with no hope of a respite from the coronavirus pandemic in the near future.

“We look forward to the participation of senior representatives of the government of Bangladesh. We have extended an invitation to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has been a global and national champion of immunisation," British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson told media.

The High Commissioner said he is delighted to share that the UK is hosting the virtual Global Vaccine Summit on June 4.

“Effective vaccination is always vital to public health. It will play a key role in helping us to move beyond this unprecedented global pandemic," Dickson said.

The summit, he said, is an important milestone in securing support for the immunization of 300 million children and saving up to 8 million lives by 2025, strengthening health systems around the world and helping to tackle coronavirus in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The host country said this would help stop the spread of future waves of infection worldwide, including coming to the United Kingdom.

The UK government and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, are working with partners and have finalised plans for the Summit programme and format, which are being shared with partners in due course.

The UK government will host Gavi’s third donor pledging conference on 3-4 June 2020 to mobilise at least US$ 7.4 billion in additional resources to protect the next generation with vaccines, reduce disease inequality and create a healthier, safer and more prosperous world.

The conference works to put countries' needs at the forefront of discussions.

It will bring together global leaders in the private and public sectors, develop long-term prosperity and provide vaccine protection to rising risk gaps and establish a healthier and more sustainable environment.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for countries to work together in a "real global endeavor" to fight the coronavirus.

The UK is already the biggest donor to the global fund to find a coronavirus vaccine.

The International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan earlier announced a funding pledge equivalent to £330 million a year over the next five years to Gavi.

This will help immunise 75 million children in the world’s poorest countries.

The UK has so far provided £744 million of UK aid for the global response to coronavirus.

In September last year, Prime Minister Sheik Hasina won the prestigious 'Vaccine Hero' award in appreciation of Bangladesh's excellent performance in immunizing babies.

The Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunizations (GAVI) presented the prize to the Prime Minister at the UN Headquarters Conference Room 1.

Receiving the award, Sheikh Hasina dedicated it to the people of Bangladesh.

The success of Bangladesh in vaccination programme is now globally acknowledged.

Bangladesh hoped to reach the target of ‘vaccines for all’ in the country well ahead of 2030.

Source: UNB