Supporters of GAVI’s Matching Fund met at the 2012 World Economic Forum to announce gifts of US$ 4.5m from  two new partners: Comic Relief and The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).

One of the first countries to introduce the new meningitis A vaccine (MenAfriVac), Chad ran an immunisation campaign with GAVI support in December 2011 to help eliminate the region’s devastating epidemics.

In November 2011, Laos is introducing rubella vaccine for the first time. During a two-phase campaign, Laos plans to immunise more than three million young people with the combined vaccine for measles and rubella ("MR" vaccine), offering protection against two preventable diseases.

Approximately 275,000 women die every year from cervical cancer with 88% occurring in developing countries, but HPV vaccines offer protection against 70% of all cervical cancer cases.