The United States will halt financial contributions to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, citing concerns over vaccine safety and transparency, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday. The decision was delivered in a recorded video message played during Gavi\u2019s pledging summit in Brussels and later confirmed by Reuters.<\/p>\n
Kennedy, a long-standing critic of vaccines, accused the global health initiative of overlooking safety issues, particularly in relation to its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and the DTPw (diphtheria-tetanus-whole cell pertussis) vaccine. He provided no supporting data for these claims.<\/p>\n
“Gavi must re-earn the public trust and justify the $8 billion the U.S. has contributed since 2001,” Kennedy stated. “Until that happens, the United States won\u2019t contribute more.\u201d<\/p>\n
His remarks, first reported by Politico<\/em>, come as Gavi seeks to raise $9 billion to fund its vaccine programs for 2026\u20132030.<\/p>\n In response, Gavi reaffirmed its commitment to scientific integrity and vaccine safety. \u201cSafety is central to our work, and we operate in full alignment with World Health Organization guidance,\u201d the alliance said in a statement. It defended the DTPw vaccine, noting it has played a vital role in halving child mortality rates in supported countries since 2000.<\/p>\n \u201cGavi fully concurs with the U.S. Secretary\u2019s call to consider all available science and remains committed to an evidence-based approach, as it always has,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n The Brussels summit brought together Gavi\u2019s leadership, donor governments, and global health advocates to secure multi-year pledges. Despite the U.S. withdrawal, key stakeholders including Germany, Norway, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reaffirmed their financial commitments.<\/p>\n Gavi Board Chair Jos\u00e9 Manuel Barroso and Gates both addressed vaccine safety concerns during the summit.<\/p>\n \u201cGavi prioritizes saving lives, and it does so with scientific rigor,\u201d Gates said. \u201cWe are constantly reviewing safety data and improving transparency.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy acknowledged Gavi\u2019s role in increasing access to affordable vaccines, but argued that its focus on universal immunization had come at the expense of rigorous safety scrutiny.<\/p>\n The move marks a significant shift in U.S. global health policy. Under previous administrations, the U.S. contributed roughly $300 million annually to Gavi. The Trump administration had also considered reducing international aid, including funding for Gavi.<\/p>\n At a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, Dr. Susan Monarez\u2014President Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2014was asked about the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe global health preparedness is critical,\u201d Monarez said. \u201cWe must continue to support vaccination programs.\u201d She added that she was not involved in the Gavi funding decision and would review the matter if confirmed.<\/p>\n The long-term implications of the U.S. withdrawal remain unclear, but Gavi\u2019s leadership maintains that global support for its mission remains strong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The United States will halt financial contributions to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, citing concerns over vaccine safety and transparency, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday. The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulatory"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/U.S.-Withdraws-Funding-from-Global-Vaccine-Alliance-Gavi-Over-Safety-Concerns-Says-Health-Secretary-Kennedy-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1708&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6362,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6360\/revisions\/6362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Gavi Responds, Defends Scientific Standards<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Summit Voices Rally Around Gavi<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Uncertainty Over Future U.S. Role<\/strong><\/h3>\n