Wellness Update: Australia to face new foreign aid request

Australia to face new foreign aid request: "Australia's commitment to curb global infant death rates will be tested this month when Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd faces requests for a fresh wave of funding.

Mr Rudd will attend the Saving Children's Lives pledging conference in London where global health alliance GAVI, will seek billions of dollars to help deliver vaccines to combat child mortality.

In the year 2000 the United Nations undertook to slash by two-thirds - between 1990 and 2015 - the death rate of children aged under five years.

The goal is set to fail and in a last-ditch effort to improve the outlook, GAVI is calling for help to deliver vaccines to nearly a quarter of a billion children across the world in the next three years.

Australia has already committed $A90 million directly to GAVI for 2006 to 2013, and made a further $A250 million commitment over 20 years through the alliance's investment branch, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation.

The facility now aims to make up a $US3.7 billion shortfall in funding for programs through until 2015.

In practical terms the money would pay for new vaccines with the potential to save some four million lives by 2015, GAVI says."