Campaign update
The UK’s funding for COVAX
Watch our Head of Policy, Liam Sollis explain the Prime Minister’s announcement about Covid-19 vaccines and treatments and what it means for every health worker.
Unicef’s role
As part of COVAX (which Liam explains above), Unicef will be leading efforts to procure and supply Covid-19 vaccines. This means we will work with manufacturers and partners to procure vaccine doses, as well as the freight, logistics and storage of the vaccines, on behalf of COVAX.
Unicef is are already the largest single vaccine buyer in the world. This is so we can provide vaccines for almost half of the world’s children every year.
Moving fast now
As the world awaits a Covid-19 vaccine, we have already begun laying the groundwork for the rapid, safe and efficient delivery of the eventual vaccine. By the end of this year, Unicef will have stockpiled 520 million syringes for vaccine use (reaching a billion in 2021), as well as other necessary equipment.
“Vaccinating the world against Covid-19 will be one of the largest mass undertakings in human history, and we will need to move as quickly as the vaccines can be produced,” says Henrietta Fore, Unicef Executive Director. “In order to move fast later, we must move fast now.
Improving the cold-chain
Even prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Unicef has been improving cold chain equipment across health facilities in countries, with support from Gavi (The Vaccine Alliance) and in partnership with WHO.
Cold-chain is the temperature-controlled supply line that is required to ensure vaccines are kept at near-freezing temperatures as they are transported thousands of kilometres from where they are produced to some of the remotest places in the world. In most countries, Unicef is promoting solar technologies to help countries maintain supply chains. Since 2017, over 40,000 cold-chain fridges, including solar fridges, have been installed across health facilities, mostly in Africa.
In South Sudan, the least electrified country in the world, where temperatures frequently exceed 40 degrees Celsius, more than 700 health facilities have been equipped by Unicef with solar power fridges, around half of all health facilities in the country. Read more about this important project.
We need your help!
The Prime Minister’s financial commitment to this global collaboration is a vital first step towards protecting healthcare workers from Covid-19. However, as Liam says, there is still more work to be done.
We hope we can count on you in the coming months to campaign alongside us to ensure this announcement turns into real life saving protection for every health worker and the children they care for.
If you have questions about the Prime Minister’s announcement, Unicef’s role or our campaign, please do email us.