“If we can spend 5% of our GDP on defense, we can certainly afford to contribute 5 million to Gavi”
Greece increases the amount it gives for Gavi’s purpose from € 2m to € 5m, as announced by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking at the Global Summit Summit: Health & Prosperity Through Immunisation co -operated by the European Union, Gavi and the Gates Foundation in Vrymelles, Gates Foundation, Gates Foundation in Vrymelles, Gates,
The prime minister referred to a personal story about his mother.
‘Lady and gentlemen, exquisite, ladies and gentlemen,
Let me not consult the notes I had prepared because I do not want to repeat what has already been said by highly eloquent speakers who preceded it. Let me just share a deep personal story with you. My late mother was infected with polio during World War II. He received the best possible care, lived a full but very difficult life, with challenges. He was one of the lucky ones. Many other children did not have the same route.
And as I heard Mr. Gates talk about the elimination of polio, I was thinking of the enormous progress made by science for the last 50 years. I was also thinking of Gavi’s enormous contribution as a model of private and public partnership, providing vaccines to tens of millions of children, saving millions of lives, “he said in his speech. Kyriakos Mitsotakis and continued as follows:
“And I believe it is our duty, our contribution, to ensure that this project continues at a time when top donors are limiting their participation, but also at a time when skepticism for vaccines is growing around the world. I am very happy and honored by the fact that Europe, the “Europe Group”, undertakes to fill the financial gap that emerged from the decision of other top donors not to continue Gavi’s funding.
On behalf of the Greek people I would like to announce that the initial suggestion of the Treasury was to contribute 2 million euros to Gavi’s purpose, but I decided to increase it to 5 million euros. I was thinking that some of us came from the NATO Summit to ensure that we are here today, with you, to reaffirm our support for Gavi. I was thinking that if we could – and rightly so, I can add – to spend 5% of our GDP on defense in the coming years, we can certainly afford to contribute 5 million to Gavi.
Thank you very much. “