As the largest vaccine buyer in the world, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is coordinating the procurement, international freight and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for the COVAX Facility.
UNICEF procures more than two billion doses of vaccines annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.
The Fund in a blog post said it had installed solar-powered fridges to store vaccines throughout Central and West Africa since 2018, with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Speaking during a virtual press conference facilitated by APO Group on Thursday, the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Director, Mohamed Fall, described the activities as the biggest, most sophisticated ground operation in the history of immunization.
He said UNICEF had started stockpiling one billion syringes and buying 10 million safety boxes so that used syringes and needles could be disposed in a safe manner by personnel at health facilities, thus preventing the risk of injuries and blood borne diseases.
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Fall added, “UNICEF has put in place a global network of freight forwarders and logistics providers to deliver vaccines as quickly and safely as possible as part of this historic and mammoth operation.
“This invaluable collaboration will ensure that we have enough transport capacity in place for delivering COVID-19 vaccine doses, syringes and safety boxes to the front-line workers who ultimately protect the millions of children who depend on their vital services.”
“It is deeply unjust that the most vulnerable Africans are forced to wait for vaccines while lower-risk groups in rich countries are made safe,” the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said.
She reiterated that health workers and vulnerable people in Africa needed urgent access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
The COVAX Facility – which is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and WHO – has secured two billion doses of vaccine from five producers, with options for over one billion more doses.
“COVAX is on track to start delivering vaccine doses and begin ensuring global access to vaccines,” the Managing Director, Country Programmes at GAVI, Thabani Maphosa, said.
“This massive international undertaking has been made possible thanks to donations, work towards dose-sharing deals and deals with manufacturers that have brought us to almost 2 billion doses secured. We look forward to rollout in the coming weeks.”
In Africa, the coalition has committed to vaccinating at least 20 per cent of the population by the end of 2021 by providing a maximum of 600 million doses based on two doses per individual disbursed in phases.
The COVAX initiative has raised $6 billion in pledges but needs an additional $2.8 billion in 2021 and WHO and partners are urging countries and donors to contribute and help end the pandemic globally.
