Several Latin American countries are expected to benefit after the Trump administration agreed to release $600 million in previously withheld funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, ending months of uncertainty over U.S. support for childhood immunization programs in some of the world's poorest nations.
Gavi supports vaccine purchases and distribution in dozens of lower-income countries. In Latin America and the Caribbean, eligible nations include Haiti, Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua, where the alliance has helped finance routine childhood immunizations and introduce vaccines against diseases such as pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, HPV and, more recently, malaria in eligible regions. As countries' incomes rise, many eventually transition out of Gavi support, but some continue receiving targeted assistance.
