WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

WHO began when our Constitution came into force on 7 April 1948 – a date we now celebrate every year as World Health Day. We are now more than 7000 people working in 150 country offices, in 6 regional offices and at our headquarters in Geneva.

Our primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations’ system.

These are our main areas of work:

• Health systems
• Promoting health through the life-course
• Noncommunicable diseases
• Communicable diseases
• Corporate services
• Preparedness, surveillance and response.

We support countries as they coordinate the efforts of multiple sectors of the government and partners – including bi- and multilaterals, funds and foundations, civil society organizations and private sector – to attain their health objectives and support their national health policies and strategies.

WORLD BANK

The World Bank Group consists of five organizations:

• THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENTThe International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.
• THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATIONThe International Development Association (IDA) provides interest-free loans — called credits — and grants to governments of the poorest countries.
• Together, IBRD and IDA make up the World Bank.
• THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATIONThe International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments.
• THE MULTILATERAL INVESTMENT GUARANTEE AGENCYThe Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was created in 1988 to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. MIGA fulfills this mandate by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders.
• THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SETTLEMENT OF INVESTMENT DISPUTESThe International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) provides international facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes.

UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations‘ global development network.

Headquartered in New York City, UNDP advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It provides expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries.

The status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP Administrator is the third highest-ranking official of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General.

To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women in all of its programmes. The UNDP Human Development Report Office also publishes an annual Human Development Report (since 1990) to measure and analyse developmental progress. In addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local Human Development Reports.

UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. Additionally, the UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Currently, the UNDP is one of the main UN agencies involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

UNDP works with nations on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and its wide range of partners.

GAVI

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private global health partnership committed to increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.

Gavi brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialised and developing countries, research and technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private philanthropists.

HISTORY

Bill Gates, speaking at the UK-hosted Gavi pledging event in June 2011

Gavi was launched in 2000, at a time when the distribution of vaccines to children in the poorest parts of the world had begun to falter. By the end of the 1990s, immunisation rates were stagnating or even declining. Nearly 30 million children born every year in developing countries were not fully immunised. With a US $750 million commitment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the vision of delivering vaccines to these children suddenly came within reach.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $1.5 billion to the alliance as of January 2013.

Since its launch in 2000, Gavi has, contributed to the immunization of an additional 370 million children, helping developing countries prevent more than 5.5 million future deaths from hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib), measles, pertussis, pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus diarrhoea and yellow fever. Between now and 2015, GAVI can accelerate access to new vaccines that will save a further four million lives. This would have a significant impact on achieving the 4thMillennium Development Goal to reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate by 2015.

Gavi has been promoting the use of Pentavalent vaccines all over the world to ensure developing nations have access to global immunization programs. In July 2013, Gavi issued a $700 million bond to purchase vaccines to fight pneumonia anddiarrhea, which are two of the most frequent killers of children under the age of five. Gavi will also purchase vaccines fordiphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, HIB and hepatitis B. The bond issue will fund immunization efforts supported by Gavi. The transaction was done by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank Group, which is IFFIm’s treasury manager, said that having predictable, long-term funding in place will help them ensure that the world’s most vulnerable children have access to healthcare, and that is a critical step in achieving the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

METHODS OF OPERATION

Countries that are eligible for Gavi support actively take the lead. They determine what their immunisation needs are, apply for funding and oversee the implementation of their vaccination programmes. Gavi’s co-financing policy requires that recipient countries contribute towards the cost of the vaccines. This further strengthens ownership and long-term sustainability of immunisation programmes. The fact that countries increasingly demand Gavi-funded vaccines and are prepared to co-finance them shows their strong commitment to improving the health of their populations.