“On the continent, UNICEF has the largest immunisation, logistics and cold chain expertise worldwide,” says Jean-Cedric. “Years of working with countries and partners gives us the experience to forecast vaccine demand and put their transport into action, even during a pandemic.”
The operation was a major success. Within weeks, two cargo planes flew to 13 countries delivering more than 11 million doses of vaccines, including diphtheria, tetanus, measles, polio and hepatitis B, ensuring there were enough routine, lifesaving vaccines in stock across countries.
“This is the best lesson we’ve learned during the outbreak and it shows us we can overcome transport challenges for COVID-19 vaccines. When we couldn’t see what tomorrow would look like, we brought together networks of immunisation specialists from across the region, brainstormed with our partners, coordinated with airlines and made sure essential vaccines go to countries that needed them,” says Jean-Cedric.
Looking ahead
There is no doubt that the challenge of delivering COVID-19 vaccines around the world in 2021 is a colossal one for UNICEF, but work is well underway to put critical pieces in place to make it happen.
We have already started buying more than 1 billion syringes and safety boxes so we can deliver them to countries before vaccines arrive. Efforts to map and identify gaps in air- and sea-freight capacity is giving us information that helps to close them, ensuring cargo space is available for vaccines to be flown all over the world.
UNICEF is on-the-ground too – and in the 92 low- and lower middle-income countries that will receive vaccines through the COVAX Facility, we are working around the clock to assist governments invest in ‘cold chain’ facilities and support the difficult, but vital efforts, to transport vaccines to those in even the most difficult-to-reach communities.
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