Leaders pledge extra vaccines for poorest

World leaders exceeded expectations yesterday by pledging an extra US$4.3 billion ($52.5 billion) over the next five years to deliver new and under-used vaccines to the poorest countries of the world - but had to defend their generosity against critics who complained the money should have been spent at home.

The sum raised was US$600 million more than the target set by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to the delight of campaigners, who said it will enable millions more children to be protected from diseases including diarrhoea and pneumonia.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's commitment to increase Britain's contribution by US$1.3 billion set a benchmark for other donors.

But it came under fire from the Tory backbenches and the public, who said it should have been used to protect British citizens against the effects of the economic whirlwind in Britain.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the decision was controversial - part of raising Britain's contribution to overseas aid to 0.7 per cent of national income by 2013 - but insisted it could not be put off until times were better.

"We can't afford to wait. How many minutes do we wait? Three children die every minute from pneumonia alone. Waiting is not the right thing to do," he said.

In response, bloggers besieged websites to complain children were being saved "to grow up in drought, famine and poverty" in a world that had too little food, water and other resources to sustain them and that the money should have been spent on family planning.

Others alleged GAVI was an elaborate conspiracy to boost the profits of Big Pharma, that vaccines were tainted and that corrupt governments filtered off aid money for their own purposes.

"Foreign aid is simply the poor people in rich countries giving money to the rich people in poor countries," said one.

The attacks explain ministers' nervousness about the reaction to Britain's stance before yesterday's meeting.

Charities paid tribute to the principled stand taken by Cameron and Bill Gates, philanthropist and founder of Microsoft, who pledged an additional US$1 billion from his foundation.

"Today is a huge victory for mothers and children around the world," said Jamie Drummond, executive director of anti-poverty campaign group ONE.

"David Cameron and Bill Gates should both be proud of their moral leadership and generosity that has helped secure this result."

Gates defended GAVI's purchasing system and said he was always careful not to pay more than he had to.

"I'm not going to spend any money that isn't directly going to help these poor children," Gates said. Independent