"I am truly humbled to receive this recognition for the humanitarian work that we have been doing at Serum Institute [of India (SII)] for the last five decades,” said industrialist-philanthropist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla on being presented with the first Vaccine Hero award by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance on December 11, 2018 at Abu Dhabi. The founder-chairman of SII stated that the "recognition... gives me and my team the strength to commit (to) and continue the humanitarian work... making available immunobiologicals and vaccines at the most affordable prices to support the great efforts made by Gavi and other UN (United Nations) agencies worldwide,” noted a press release on the Alliance’s website. "Gavi simply would not have had the impact we’ve had without SII,” noted the Alliance’s chief executive officer Dr Seth Berkley, adding that Poonawalla had been a "steadfast supporter” of Gavi since its inception in 2000.
From left: Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla,
Dr Seth Berkley: recognizing SII’s contribution
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SII, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, supplies 40% of the vaccines funded by Gavi, noted the press release. For the period 2016-2020, SII will have provided more than half a billion doses for Gavi-supported vaccine programs protecting children against nine diseases.
The Alliance’s website also noted that it brings together public and private sectors with the goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. Gavi is supported by donor governments in Australia, North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia; the European Commission; Alwaleed Philanthropies; the OPEC Fund for International Development; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as private and corporate partners.