South Africa Joins IFFIm

London, March 16, 2007— The Republic of South Africa today joined the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), becoming its seventh government donor, along with France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

"We are pleased to provide USD 20 million to IFFIm for immunisation and health projects in developing countries. We're very proud to be the first emerging market country donor to contribute towards this initiative and indeed this is an extension of our efforts to support development in other countries," said Lesetja Kganyago, Director General, National Treasury, Republic of South Africa.

“We very much appreciate South Africa’s leadership, as an emerging market country, in becoming a sovereign donor to IFFIm,” said Alan Gillespie, Chairman of IFFIm’s Board.

South Africa will contribute $20 million, paying $1 million annually to IFFIm over 20 years.

One of the great strengths of IFFIm’s funding is that it is, by design, predictable over the long-term. Assured long-term funding helps partner countries to move forward with long-term planning, strengthening immunisation programmes and the supporting health system infrastructure.

“South Africa’s sponsorship is a vote of confidence in IFFIm’s ability to provide predictable financing for immunisation and to strengthen health systems in developing countries,” said Susan McAdams, World Bank manager in charge of treasury management services to IFFIm.

Over the next ten years, IFFIm, rated AAA/Aaa/AAA, plans to raise funds in the capital markets to finance an estimated total amount of up to US$ 4 billion in disbursements for immunisation and health programmes in 70 developing countries through the GAVI Alliance. IFFIm funds go to the purchase and distribution of vaccines as well as to meet the needs that countries identify as “bottlenecks” to getting immunisation to children. It is anticipated that IFFIm will support the immunisation of 500 million people, preventing 5 million child deaths and more than 5 million future adult deaths. IFFIm makes grant disbursements from its operating funds through GAVI Alliance programmes.

The GAVI Alliance is a private-public partnership accelerating delivery of life-saving immunisation to the world’s poorest children. By the end of 2006, it was estimated that 2.3 million additional premature deaths had been prevented. The innovative structure of GAVI was designed to provide predictable, long-term development financing for immunisation quickly and efficiently. GAVI Alliance members include a wide range of development partners: developing country and donor governments, WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry (from industrialised and developing countries), research and technical agencies, NGOs, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The GAVI Fund – the resource and financing arm of GAVI.

The World Bank is Treasury Manager for IFFIm. It manages IFFIm's finances, develops IFFIm's funding strategy and its implementation in the capital markets, and handles rating agency and investor outreach, hedging transactions and investment management. The World Bank also coordinates with IFFIm’s donors, managing their pledges and payments as well as IFFIm’s disbursements for immunisation programmes.

In November 2006, IFFIm priced its first ever capital markets financing, a USD 1 billion 5-year benchmark bond. The issue was a landmark in the history of multilateral development financings and in the capital markets. By the end of 2007, GAVI expects to have disbursed almost US$840 million of frontloaded IFFIm proceeds to purchase vaccines and strengthen health systems in IFFIm-eligible countries.