Berkley, earned his bachelor’s degree in 1978 and his MD in 1981 at Brown and currently holds an appointment as adjunct professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School. Gavi, a global health organization that saves lives through making vaccinations more accessible to developing countries, has immunized more than half a billion children and is working toward immunizing an additional 300 million in the next five years.
Berkley’s presentation described Gavi’s mission and the changes they are working to implement on a global scale. Berkley says, “We want children to live up to their full potential.” In developing countries, children’s capacity to thrive and remain healthy is often limited. Gavi brings together both public and private sectors with the mutual goal of establishing equitable access to child vaccines. According to Berkley, vaccinations have the potential to not only save lives, but to act as a major tool in helping developing countries move forward toward economic growth and increased productivity. In fact, Berkley said, “Research suggests that having a full course of immunizations is equivalent to primary school on long-term economic growth.”