World leaders meeting at the Gavi Pledging Conference earlier this week, led by German  Chancellor Angela Merkel, pledged a record sum amounting to $7.5 billion to Gavi, a Vaccine Alliance dedicated to providing immunization for children in developing countries. The pledges are earmarked for a comprehensive immunization program that will immunize over 300 million children, thus preventing an estimated 5-6 million premature deaths.

The conference, hosted by Chancellor Merkel in Berlin, was attended by key world leaders from countries such as Tanzania, Mali, and Norway. They were joined by noted philanthropist Bill Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ministers from donor countries, CEOs of vaccine companies, civil society organizations, and UN agency members.

In an article by Gavi, Bill Gates applauded the results of the conference which will help increase the long-term sustainability of vaccine programs. "Today is a great day for children in the world's poorest countries who will now receive the life-saving vaccines they need. We believe in the next 15 years, poor people's lives will improve faster than any other period in history and that access to vaccines provided by Gavi are critical to making that happen," said Gates.

Dr. Mesfin Teklu, the Vice-President of Health and Nutrition at World Vision, cautioned that there is still considerable work that needs to be done to improve the health of children in poor countries. "We welcome the efforts made, but this is not a reason to tick child health off the priority list for upcoming events such as the G7 Summit in June. Leaders must keep children, especially the most vulnerable, in the front of their minds as they make important decisions this year," he said, in a press release from World Vision.

Teklu mentioned preventable child deaths, violence committed against children, and child hunger as other critical areas that must be addressed in future conferences.