The Global Vaccine Summit, to be hosted by the UK, will now be an entirely virtual event.

"The virtual Global Vaccine Summit, hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, shows UK leadership on a key aspect of tackling the pandemic," British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson told UNB on Wednesday. 

Dickson said he is very pleased that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be leading Bangladeshi representation in the Global Vaccine Summit. 

"Vaccination is always important to public health everywhere and Sheikh Hasina has a strong and internationally recognised track record of promoting it in Bangladesh," said the British High Commissioner.

Earlier, an invitation was extended to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has been a global and national champion of immunisation.

"It will play a key role in helping us to move beyond this unprecedented global pandemic," Dickson said.

The Summit, he said, is an important milestone, including securing support to immunise 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives by 2025, strengthening health systems around the world and helping to tackle coronavirus in some of the world’s poorest countries.

If the Summit succeeds, the organisers said they will be able to maintain immunisation in developing countries mitigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

They will also be able to sustain health systems so that countries are ready to rapidly introduce COVID-19 vaccines; and by 2025 they will have immunised more than 1.1 billion children, saving 22 million lives, according to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The host country said this will help stop future waves of infection spreading globally, including coming to the UK.

It will bring together private and public sector global leaders, building long-term sustainability and vaccine supply security to reduce disease inequality and create a safer and more prosperous world.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called on countries to come together in a “truly global effort” to defeat coronavirus.

The UK is already the biggest donor to the global fund to find a coronavirus vaccine.

International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan earlier announced a funding pledge equivalent to £330 million a year over the next five years to Gavi. 

This will help immunise 75 million children in the world’s poorest countries.

The UK has so far provided £744 million of UK aid for the global response to coronavirus.

In September last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received the prestigious ‘Vaccine Hero’ award in recognition of Bangladesh's outstanding success in vaccination to immunise children.

Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisations (GAVI) conferred the award upon the Prime Minister at a ceremony at the Conference Room 1 of the UN Headquarters.

Receiving the award, Sheikh Hasina dedicated it to the people of Bangladesh.

The success of Bangladesh in vaccination programme is now globally acknowledged.

Bangladesh hoped to reach the target of ‘vaccines for all’ in the country well ahead of 2030.

Also read: PM to join virtual Global Vaccine Summit in UK June 4