On Monday, the President released the Administration’s requested budget for the fiscal year 2016. This budget lays out the President’s funding and policy priorities for the coming year, and kicks off the “Budget and Appropriations Process.” This is when Congress and the Administration work together to decide how much money the U.S. will spend on all issues, including global health and global childhood immunizations.
I am incredibly grateful that the President continues to show his support for ending preventable child deaths, recognizing that vaccines are one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.
I am also thankful for all the hard work you – our Champions, supporters and partners – put in leading up to this budget request. You called on the President to fully fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and ensured that the White House understood the importance of polio eradication and measles elimination. It’s definitely paid off since this budget prioritizes global vaccines!
We are still waiting for more numbers to be released, but here is what we know the President requested:
- $235 million in contributions to Gavi which is a $35 million increase over last year’s levels and puts the U.S. on track to meet the $1 billion pledge made at the Gavi Replenishment in January.
- Polio eradication efforts through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) be funded at $168 million, a $10 million increase from last year.
- Efforts to eliminate measles be funded at $49 million, which is the same amount as 2015.
- $132 million to fund UNICEF, which is level funding from the previous year.
We will keep you posted when we learn of additional figures. If you want to get involved in making sure that the U.S. continues to fund key global health and global vaccine efforts, stay tuned for our upcoming advocacy series, where we will call on Shot@Life supporters to contact Congress in support of these funding levels!