ROME - Five nations including Canada are funding a US$1.5-billion program to encourage drug companies to come up with vaccines to help prevent pneumonia and meningitis in hopes of saving the lives of at least 5.4 million children by 2030 in the world's poorest countries.
Part of a wider plan to tackle other deadly diseases in these countries, the pilot project - funded by Canada, Italy, Norway, Russia and Britain - targets pneumococcal disease, a major cause of pneumonia and meningitis that kills 1.6 million people every year.
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was among those who attended a ceremony in Rome on Friday to launch the "Advance Market Commitment" plan.
"The key aim is to ensure there is secure funding for the vaccines urgently needed in the poorest countries, where thousands of children die every day from diseases that can be prevented," Wolfowitz said in a statement.
In announcing Canada's contribution of some C$235 million, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said it "builds on Canada's proud tradition of assisting developing countries through improved health care and a higher standard of living."
"Vaccination has been clearly shown to be one of the most effective ways to fight infectious diseases around the globe, and this initiative has the potential to save millions of lives," Flaherty said in a statement.
Flaherty was in Rome prior to a two-day meeting with G7 finance ministers in Essen, Germany.
The pilot program will fund the development of vaccines against types of pneumococcal disease that are prevalent in Third World countries.
"Such vaccines are urgently needed to prevent millions of human beings, including countless children, from dying each year from infectious diseases," said Pope Benedict, who received at the Vatican the finance ministers from participating countries and others, including Wolfowitz and Queen Rania of Jordan.
The pontiff met the ministers in his private library and praised the plan for being "inspired by that spirit of human solidarity which our world needs in order to overcome every form of selfishness and to foster the peaceful coexistence of peoples."
Vaccines are bought only if they meet standards of efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness established by the GAVI Alliance - formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization - the World Bank and an assessment committee.
Participating vaccine companies must agree to sell the new vaccine at a price that cash-strapped governments in Africa, Asia and South America can afford.
Any manufacturer may apply for funding.
After seven to 10 years, AMC funding will phase out, and vaccine-makers are expected to continue supplying the developing world with their products, at a discounted price, set during the process.
"The industry is not willing to invest resources to develop products that too few people have money to buy," Italian Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa told the Pope. "Public funding of research is not enough to fill the gap."
