Great News! UNICEF To Help Deliver Vaccines To Cambodia

UNICEF is outlining the plan to transport up to 850 tonnes of COVID-19 vaccines per month on behalf of COVAX, in ‘mammoth and historic’ logistics operation, it said.

“UNICEF – in partnership with Gavi and WHO – is also helping low- and lower-middle-income countries prepare to receive COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. Cambodia is one of the countries UNICEF will deliver vaccines to, under the leadership of the Royal Government of Cambodia and in close partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO),” it added.

The new global assessment is part of UNICEF’s work to lead on the procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for 92 low- and lower-middle-income countries on behalf of the COVAX Facility, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

“This is a mammoth and historic undertaking,” said Ms. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “The scale of the task is daunting, and the stakes have never been higher, but we are ready to take this on.”

In Cambodia, UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Health and the WHO to prepare the country for the roll-out of the eventual vaccines. The partners are working together to develop strategies for deployment, assess vaccine management and cold chain capacity, support the application of cold chain equipment aid from Gavi, develop a plan for old cold chain equipment replacement, estimate operational costs and needs, and prepare communications, advocacy and demand generation. At the sub-national level, UNICEF will support the Royal Government of Cambodia with community mobilisation and engagement, while helping monitor and evaluate the roll-out of vaccines.

The UNICEF global assessment looked at global airfreight capacity and transport routes to better understand the challenges of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. It found that commercial airlines will be able to deliver vaccines to almost all 92 low- and lower-middle-income countries, which are among the 190 economies participating in the COVAX Facility, at an estimated cost of up to US$70 million.

Source/AKP