Pope buys into $1bn bond for children’s vaccines

POPE Benedict joined other religious leaders, rock stars and financial institutions yesterday to buy into a $1 billion bond issue that will fund life-saving vaccines for children in poor countries.

Investors bid for almost twice the amount of securities on offer as British Chancellor Gordon Brown launched the project to fight preventable diseases like polio and measles.

The offering, the first of its kind, was the start of a 10-year initiative known as the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm).

“We will ultimately raise an extra $4 billion to deliver life-saving vaccines to children in the poorest countries,” Brown said at the launch, flanked by religious leaders and Queen Rania of Jordan.

“This will immunise 500 million children by 2015 saving ten million lives, and help to eradicate polio from the world.”

Brown handed the first bond to Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican’s Justice and Peace Council, who bought it in the Pope’s name.

“It is the hope of Pope Benedict that the participation by the Church in this programme will help to inspire others to take the step towards concrete action,” he said.

Five more bonds were sold to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sachs, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Hindu Forum of Britain and the Network of Sikh Organisations.

Rockers-turned-activists Bono and Bob Geldof will also buy some of the bonds and the project has the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The bond, which carries a top-notch triple A credit rating, was priced to yield a premium of 31 basis points over the equivalent US Treasury note. Central banks and official institutions bought 35%, 25% went to fund managers, 23% to pension funds and 8% to retail investors. Banks, corporations and insurance firms bought the remainder.