End the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dear Friend,

While UNICEF continues to implement programs to keep children and their families safe and supported throughout the pandemic, we are also leading efforts to procure and supply COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low-and lower middle-income countries.

As the largest vaccine buyer in the world, UNICEF is leveraging its unique experience to work with manufacturers and partners on the procurement of vaccine doses as well as freight, logistics and storage of COVID-19 vaccines. The organization will lean into its decades of work in immunizations to ensure swift, equitable access once vaccines are available: mapping cold chain equipment capacity, developing advance purchase agreements, advising governments on immunization policy, building trust in vaccination and demand for forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines.

As details continue to be developed and refined, UNICEF’s decades of expertise in procuring vaccines and supplies and delivering health programs, as well as insights gained from the COVID-19 response across the world, will provide a clear roadmap of what will be required to support a swift, effective and equitable global response. That said, UNICEF is undertaking the following work to set the world up for success as it moves forward with a potential rollout of a vaccine:

• Pre-positioning of over 520 million syringes and 5.2 million safety boxes to fill supply gaps in the most vulnerable communities around the globe;
• Purchase  nearly 92,000 vaccine fridges, cold boxes and vaccine carriers;
• Provide 16 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep healthcare workers safe;
• Support for temperature-controlled freight, ground logistics, and warehousing;
• 10 million surge stocks of diagnostic test and treatments; and
• Provide healthcare worker training in hundreds of languages to 215 million healthcare workers

Thanks to your support, UNICEF will be able to mitigate the negative consequences of COVID-19 and work with partners to reimagine and develop a world that is a safer and more equitable place for communities and children everywhere.

Many Thanks,

Whitney  

Links:

• UNICEF is Stockpiling to Prepare for COVID-19 Vaccine