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Cristina Pinto
Malaga
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 11:54
Malaga companies have helped inoculate nearly 80,000 children in Africa against pneumonia through a special vaccination program. Since 2008, the child vaccination alliance has been promoted in Malaga, an initiative set up by the La Caixa Foundation, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, with the support of the Gates Foundation and the collaboration of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
It has resulted in 79,111 children immunised, mainly against pneumonia, in particularly vulnerable areas of Africa where health services are inaccessible. A total of 154 companies in Malaga province helped achieve this through donations, in addition to contributions from Spanish citizens.
The collection has been carried out through the 'matching fund' formula, in which all donations received are multiplied by four. For each euro donated, La Caixa Foundation adds another euro, and the Gates Foundation, two euros more. According to the organisation, Spanish contributions have resulted in "ten million children vaccinated in Africa", an action that, since its launch in 2008, has been made possible thanks to 5,000 companies throughout the country. Among the most noteworthy data pointed out by La Caixa Foundation is the financing of 100% of the cost of vaccination programmes against pneumonia in Mozambique and 25% in Ethiopia during 2021 and 2022.
Pneumonia is the leading global cause of infant deaths due to infection, and results in more than 700,000 deaths a year, especially in the most disadvantaged areas. La Caixa Foundation presented these figures to mark World Pneumonia Day on 12 November and "to remind us that vaccination is essential to protect children, especially those living in poverty".
The alliance between the La Caixa Foundation and Gavi, the vaccine alliance in Europe, renews its commitment for the 16th consecutive year "to make its annual contribution, doubling all donations made". This initiative also receives donations from companies and private citizens, but also extends to CaixaBank customers as a philanthropic action in the fight against infant deaths.
The Gates Foundation, which launched the matching fund formula in 2011, remains committed to doubling the amount of all funds contributed to Gavi by 2024. ISGlobal, which joined as a strategic partner in 2014, also continues to contribute its scientific and academic expertise to the initiative.
The internal work teams of CaixaBank Empresas and CaixaBank Dualiza, as well as its entire branch network, form part of "the keys to the spread and success of this initiative", according to the La Caixa Foundation, which added that this objective "raises awareness among customers, who are offered the opportunity to contribute to access and quality of vaccines in developing countries as an action of social responsibility".
With this initiative, La Caixa Foundation completes a long list of aid to give opportunities to the people who need it most, "to contribute to the construction of a fairer and more equitable society through medical research, training of excellence, culture and education, fundamental to promote progress and equal opportunities", the foundation said.
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