The United Kingdom on Thursday organized a Global Vaccine Summit 2020, to fight with the pandemic and almost every country are pledging their support to develop a vaccine.

The virtual event saw representatives of more than 50 countries - business leaders, UN agencies, civil society, government ministers, Heads of State and country leaders, including India’s Prime Minister Modi - pledge their support to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in its commitment to help save up to 8 million lives over the next five years.

The summit helped to secure $8.8 billion for the period 2021 to 2025, maintaining immunization in those countries where the healthcare system is more likely to struggle with COVID-19 outbreaks.

The UK confirmed itself as Gavi's leading donor, pledging more than $2 billion over the next five years to support the Vaccine Alliance's efforts to vaccinate 1.1 billion children in the world's poorest countries against preventable infectious diseases.

The initiative by Gavi will help further the research to help stop the spread of infectious diseases and the resurgence of other epidemics. If a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine is developed, it will also have a role in its delivery around the world. Global access will ensure collective international recovery, the release added. 

Addressing the attendees, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, "I hope this summit will be the moment when the world comes together to unite humanity in the fight against the disease. I urge you to join us to fortify this lifesaving alliance and inaugurate a new era of global health co-operation, which I believe is now the most essential shared endeavor of our lifetimes."