UK aid will help vaccinate a child in the developing world every two seconds for the next five years, the Prime Minister announced today.

Over 80 million under-fives living in some of the poorest countries in the world will be vaccinated against killer diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea with the help of British aid as part of a broader collective effort.

Opening a four-hour push to save lives hosted by David Cameron, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (President of Liberia) and Bill Gates (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), the Prime Minister called on other donors to dig deep in order to reach the target of vaccinating at least a quarter of a billion children in the next five years in order to save the lives of four million children.

Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, said:

“In just four hours today we have given a mother in Kinshasa the chance to see her child reach her fifth birthday, allowed a child in Juba to attend school for the first time and given a nurse in Dakar the power to protect a child forever, not treat them as they die.

“Vaccinations are proof positive that well spent aid saves lives. The UK has worked hard to bring in new partners and get existing donors to increase the size of their contribution so that we can save more lives.”

Picture: Russell Watkins / Department for International Development

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