Countries pledge $4.3bn in funding for child vaccines

Many developing countries cannot afford life-saving vaccines for children

Countries have pledged an unprecedented $4.3bn to help vaccinate children against preventable diseases like pneumonia.

The Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation says this funding milestone will save more than four million lives in the next four years.

The donations exceeded expectations - GAVI asked for $3.7bn (£2.3bn).

The UK promised $1.3bn (£814m), and Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates said he would give $1bn to the campaign.

Other donors include Norway, giving $677m, and the US, giving $450m, as well as Sweden, The Netherlands, Australia, France, Germany and Italy.

The UK has already committed more than any other nation - £2bn over 30 years.

The extra £814m comes on top of the UK's existing commitment of £680m between 2011 and 2015.

'A promise'
Prime Minister David Cameron said there was a "strong moral case" for keeping pledges Britain had made to the developing world, no matter the economic circumstances at home.

"Today we come together because we have the chance to save another four million lives."

He said the idea of children dying from pneumonia and diarrhoea should be "unthinkable" in 2011.

"To those who say fine but we should put off seeing through those promises to another day because right now we can't afford to help: I say - we can't afford to wait."

Two million under-fives die from pneumonia alone each year despite the existence of a vaccine to protect them.