By Christina Fincher LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Representatives of the world's leading religions will on Tuesday buy the first bonds in a pioneering $1 billion issue to fund life-saving vaccine projects. The bond sale is the first of its kind to tap the international capital markets for money to fight preventable diseases like measles, polio and tetanus, which kill more than two million children a year in impoverished countries. The scheme is the brainchild of British finance minister Gordon Brown, who has long campaigned for bond financing as a way of "front-loading" development aid. This week's offering is only the first leg of the initiative, which aims to raise $4 billion in the bond markets over the next 10 years. "With this bond we will ultimately raise an extra $4 billion to deliver life-saving vaccines to children in the poorest countries," Brown will tell a reception in London, attended by a coalition of religious leaders, his office said. "This will immunise 500 million children by 2015 saving ten million lives, and help to eradicate polio from the world." Brown will hand the first bond to Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Justice and Peace Council, who will buy it in the Pope's name. The subsequent five bonds will be bought by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sachs, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Hindu Forum of Britain and the Network of Sikh Organisations. MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS Brown argues new funding mechanisms are essential if the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals on child poverty are to be met and wants the creation of a wider scheme that could double rich countries' aid spending to $100 billion a year. But the idea of using aid pledges as collateral to raise funds has run into repeated opposition from the United States which is reluctant to make commitments under one administration that must be passed on to the next. Some lobby groups have also expressed concern that a scheme that relies on future aid commitments could pose problems further down the line. Advocates of the bond sale, however, argue more lives can be saved by front-loading aid than by spreading it over a number of years. The project has the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as rockers-turned-activists Bob Geldof and Bono. Proceeds from the bond sale will go to a new development agency, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, administered by the World Bank. Britain is the biggest contributor to the scheme which is backed by five other European countries -- France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Norway. Brazil and South Africa have also committed to join at a later date, with more countries waiting to see the outcome of the initial transaction. Investment banks Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> are coordinating the offering and will price the five-year bond later on Tuesday to yield 30 to 33 basis points over the current five-year U.S. Treasury bond.
