Vaccines which are taken for granted in developed countries are still not available to millions of children in the developing world. This is a solvable problem and the International Finance Facility for Immunization was founded in 2005 to tackle this issue. Through the issuance of social and vaccine bonds, the facility accelerates the availability of funds for Gavi’s Immunization Programs and facilitates timely and effective introduction of new vaccines into routine programs. The Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization (GAVI) is an organisation created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest areas. IFFIm issues bonds that pay a market-rate interest to investors and are backed by the long-term legally binding financial pledges of several donor governments. This scheme provides developing countries with the funding predictability needed to make long term budget and planning decisions about their immunization programs.

Following the successful social impact of the first Vaccine Bond issued in 2006, the Facility has issued nearly twenty bonds since then. Thanks to these funds, Gavi immunized over 62 million children in 2016 and since its inception the organization has consistently improved access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.