Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Performance evidence

Overview

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, established in 2000, is a public-private partnership dedicated to increasing equitable and sustainable use of vaccines. Its vision is a world where every child has access to life-saving vaccines, boosting economies of lower-income countries and preventing disease. Gavi supports countries in strengthening primary healthcare; supplies vaccines at affordable prices; fosters collaboration among governments, organisations and private-sector partners; and drives innovation to combat emerging health threats. Gavi is overseen by its Board of Directors, comprised of 28 members from partner organisations, private-sector experts and key stakeholders while the Secretariat is responsible for day-to-day operations of the Alliance. It is funded primarily by contributions from donor governments, foundations, private-sector partners (77%) and innovative finance mechanisms tailored to donor budget requirements (23%).

Gavi plays a pivotal role in the global health ecosystem. Since its inception, Gavi has facilitated the vaccination of over 1 billion children, preventing more than 17.3 million deaths and delivering significant economic benefits. Gavi’s work to broaden vaccine coverage and strengthen health systems is particularly critical. Its focus on reaching children who have not received any vaccinations serves not only to combat vaccine-preventable diseases but also to provide a crucial platform for delivering other primary healthcare services. Additionally, Gavi’s market-shaping efforts have transformed vaccine supply chains, enabling affordable and sustainable access to life-saving vaccines and enhancing global health security.

The latest MOPAN assessment finds that Gavi remains fit for purpose overall and delivers value for money. Gavi places a clear emphasis on promoting vaccine equity. Its adaptive and collaborative approach during the COVID-19 response demonstrated its ability to strengthen partnerships effectively. Enhanced monitoring of disbursements has supported partner countries in accelerating immunisation efforts and meeting changing needs. By aligning resources with national health strategies and encouraging increased domestic funding, the organisation has also improved the sustainability of its initiatives.

Areas for improvement remain: although Gavi’s risk management function has been recently strengthened, further progress is urgently required, specifically on protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH). Its evaluation function has been strengthened, but gaps remain. Gavi’s funding mechanisms remain too complex and challenging for its country-facing teams and partners. Additionally, its approach to accountability and how it is operationalised remain unclear.

Performance rating summary

Gavi organisational performance wheel 2024 — Organisational performance

Key findings

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Gavi continued to demonstrate progress on its mission indicators that are identified in its strategies, and post-pandemic, it has refocused efforts on its core mandate.
Gavi’s policies and processes of using robust evidence and close monitoring of financial disbursements and programmatic implementation ensure it remains a solid value-for-money organisation.
Gavi’s engagement within the global health landscape has made it a critical agency not only for immunisations but for broader universal healthcare (UHC) and health systems strengthening (HSS) efforts.
Gavi repeatedly demonstrated its ability to be responsive to country needs by closely aligning itself with country strategies and priorities, incorporating the use of country systems and collaborating closely with in-country stakeholders.
During the assessment period, Gavi strengthened its evaluative and learning function, and its lessons learned and best practices are shared widely within the Partnership and with other stakeholders.

Developing systems and ways of working that are aligned with international best practice to identify, monitor, mitigate and report on a wide variety of risks, including SEA and SH.
Clarifying accountability within its unique Partnership structure and the specific groups to which the organisation should be accountable to.
Rationalising and streamlining funding mechanisms (and accompanying reporting requirements), which are currently placing a significant burden on country-facing staff and implementing country partners.
Addressing and incorporating cross-cutting issues, specifically gender, environmental sustainability and climate change.
Developing a holistic and comprehensive approach to evaluation to support understanding of whether this function is adequately resourced and to support the tracking of results holistically.