US President Donald Trump’s administration plans to terminate a $2.6bn grant to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance founded and funded by Bill Gates

The move will also end research on vaccines and antiviral drugs that would, supposedly, treat and prevent future covid outbreaks as well as guard against future viral pandemic threats.

Researchers working on the development of a malaria vaccine Credit: Simon Townsley

Some of Gavi’s flagship vaccine programmes will have to be cut if the United States goes through with a plan to stop funding the global partnership, its CEO has warned.

Among the projects under threat are plans to begin building emergency stockpiles of new mpox and tuberculosis vaccines, the distribution of badly needed malaria jabs, as well as a billion dollar programme to boost vaccine production in Africa.

Dr Sania Nishtar, who took over as CEO of the organisation in March last year, said the Gavi board would have to decide “what gets shelved” in the event American funding dries up.

“If we take a 15 per cent cut, and if this comes on the top of the cuts that the traditional donors may make, we have to go to the drawing board on what gets dropped, what gets scaled down,” she told The Telegraph.

“We’ve just introduced the malaria vaccine and then, of course, the tuberculosis vaccine is on the anvil,” she said. “There is already a commitment to maintain a new stockpile for the mpox vaccine. So all these things will be up for debate, as would be the African Vaccine Manufacturing accelerator.”

The Trump administration’s decision to end support for Gavi, which helps purchase vaccines for the world’s poorest countries and has been credited with saving the lives of 19 million children, was revealed in a spreadsheet sent to Congress last week.

The US has been one of the organisation’s biggest donors since it was set up at the turn of the millennium, and Dr Nishtar said she was optimistic that Washington can be persuaded to continue its support.

“I must emphasise that we have not received a termination notice,” she said. “We think that the situation will be remedied and we will not have to live with this funding shortfall.