LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson will host a global vaccine summit on Thursday, urging
nations to pledge funding for vaccinations against infectious
diseases to help the poorest countries tackle the coronavirus
crisis.
Representatives of more than 50 countries, including 35
heads of state or government, will come together virtually in
London to raise funds for the GAVI vaccine alliance, a
public-private global health partnership.
The summit aims to raise at least $7.4 billion (6 billion
pounds) for GAVI to immunise a further 300 million children in
the world's poorest countries by 2025 against diseases such as
polio, diphtheria and measles.
"Just as the UK is the single biggest donor to the
international effort to find a coronavirus vaccine, we will
remain the world’s leading donor to GAVI, contributing 1.65
billion pounds over the next five years," Johnson said in a
statement.
"I urge you to join us to fortify this lifesaving alliance
and inaugurate a new era of global health cooperation, which I
believe is now the most essential shared endeavour of our
lifetimes.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison)