The U.S. government will pledge $1 billion over the next four years to Gavi, a global health partnership dedicated to immunization, after students at this university helped lobby for the funding.
This university’s chapter of RESULTS, along with branches nationwide, campaigned on behalf of the international organization dedicated to providing equal access to vaccines for children across the globe.
This pledge is the largest commitment to Gavi from the United States, according to the group. In 2011, this country pledged $450 million over three years.
“Through our work, we were able to get many senators and representatives to sign on,” said senior Nyana Quashie, a geographical sciences major and president of this university’s RESULTS branch. “RESULTS UMD’s role in this was small, but by working together with other chapters to raise awareness about Gavi, we were able to make a big difference.”
More than 25 students from this university participated by sending letters to their congressional representatives as well as speaking with state representatives and senators in support of Gavi, Quashie said.
Senior Evelyn Xu said she wasn’t sure the country would agree to pledge $1 billion.
“I was actually very worried about not reaching the goal,” said Xu, a family science major and the university’s RESULTS branch’s former vice president. “As a new group on campus, it was hard to get recognition and to gather members to help in our efforts.”
RESULTS’ goal is to fund immunizations for 300 million children in developing countries by 2020, with vaccines distributed to children based on where they’re needed most, Quashie said.
Gavi distributes 11 vaccines to various countries, she said, including vaccines that protect children from meningitis, measles and diphtheria. Most of the countries that benefit from Gavi are located in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, Quashie said.
“I am really proud of all the hard work that these students have put in and the leadership skills they demonstrate,” said Leslie Dow, the RESULTS branch’s adviser. “With more students involved, I am confident we would be able to achieve even more in 2015.”
Despite reaching the funding goal, Quashie said, RESULTS is looking to expand its reach on the campus.
“We are going to continue with our advocacy work and build up our presence on campus,” she said. “Public health is still a big issue for many poor around the world, especially children. We’ll continue to meet with our members of Congress to let them know how they can be of assistance.”
Quashie said neglecting to invest money in global children’s health now would end up costing the government more in the future.
“We’re not going to stop here,” Quashie said. “We’ll continue to do work to make sure that health care systems are strengthened in developing countries.”
