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Gavi pools money from governments and donors to buy vaccines and pay for their delivery to children in the world's poorest countries.
Gavi is a public-private partnership that buys vaccines and gets them into the arms of children in low-income countries. It does not invent vaccines or run clinics itself. Instead, it pools money from governments, foundations, and other donors, uses that money to negotiate low prices from vaccine makers, and then works with countries and partners to pay for the shots and the systems that deliver them.
The basic problem is straightforward. A child in a poor country needs the same basic vaccines as a child anywhere else, but the country may not be able to afford them and the vaccine maker may not see a reliable market. Gavi helps solve both sides at once. Its buying power gives manufacturers a predictable, large order, which encourages them to produce more and lower prices. On the country side, Gavi helps governments plan, fund, and carry out immunization programs, and it supports the cold chains and health workers that make delivery possible. Gavi's money comes mostly from donor governments and philanthropic groups, and it also uses innovative financing tools such as advance market commitments and vaccine bonds to pull future funding forward. Countries themselves increasingly co-finance their vaccine programs as their economies grow, which is meant to build a path toward self-sufficiency. The alliance's partners include the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and it works alongside companies such as Pfizer and GSK that supply vaccines.
Gavi's biggest strength is its role as a trusted buyer and coordinator in a market where poor countries would otherwise struggle to get reliable supply at fair prices. Its biggest vulnerability is dependence on donor generosity and on fragile health systems in the countries it serves. When a pandemic hits or a donor budget tightens, the model is tested. Gavi's response to COVID-19, including its role in the COVAX effort, showed both how quickly it can move and how hard it is to scale a global vaccine effort fairly.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026