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Another 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine reach Pakistan through COVAX
Five million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been delivered to Islamabad by the COVAX Facility’s global COVID-19 vaccine equity scheme so far.
ISLAMABAD, 17 July 2021 – Today 1 236 000 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine reached Islamabad through the COVAX Facility, bringing the total number of doses delivered by the global COVID-19 vaccine equity scheme in Pakistan to five million so far. Since May, 2.4 million doses of AstraZeneca, 100 160 doses of Pfizer and 2.5 million doses of Moderna, the latter donated by the United States under the dose-sharing mechanism, have been delivered to Pakistan via COVAX.
“WHO applauds Pakistan’s globally recognized COVID-19 vaccination campaign. It is a remarkable achievement that COVID-19 vaccines are equitably made available to people even in the remotest areas of Pakistan. The vaccine roll-out has helped prevent COVID-19 infections, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death, and has reduced pressure on healthcare system,“ said Dr. Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan.
“WHO will continue supporting the Government of Pakistan in setting up essential systems for swift and safe administration of vaccines. On behalf of the COVAX Facility, I reiterate that we will support Government of Pakistan with COVID-19 vaccines for around 20% of the population."
The vaccines will support the Government of Pakistan’s ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive which started in February, one year after the first case was reported in the country. More than 4.5 million people have been fully vaccinated, and more than 18 million people partially vaccinated against the COVID-19 coronavirus so far. One million cases of COVID-19 have been reported and nearly 23 000 people have succumbed to the disease.
“This latest delivery comes at a critical time as the Government of Pakistan intensifies its vaccination campaign across the country. UNICEF is supporting global COVID-19 vaccination efforts through COVAX to maximize supply and access to safe, effective, and affordable vaccines,” said Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan.
”UNICEF will continue to support the Government in ensuring an efficient and effective management of all vaccination campaigns through procurement services of essential COVID-19, routine immunization and polio supplies; expansion of cold chain capacity to ensure safe storage of vaccines; and risk communication and community engagement to increase vaccine uptake and ensure adherence to COVID-19 safety measures.”
Strictly complying with COVID-19 safety measures remains crucial to curb the spread of virus. These include regularly washing hands with soap for at least 20 seconds or use a sanitizer; wearing a mask; remaining at least six feet away from other people; avoiding crowded places; and staying home when having COVID-19 symptoms.
The COVAX Facility aims to help address the acute phase of the global pandemic by the end of 2021 by providing rapid, fair, and equitable access to approved vaccines to all participating countries, regardless of income level. It enables the protection of frontline health care and social workers, as well as other high-risk and vulnerable groups.
COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access) is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, together with UNICEF. It is funded thanks to generous support from partner governments, foundations, and private sector corporations. So far, it has delivered more than 90 million doses of different COVID-19 vaccines to 133 countries and territories around the world.
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Photos can be downloaded here:
https://weshare.unicef.org/Folder/2AMZIFHBYAP5
For more information, please contact:
UNICEF
Catherine Weibel, UNICEF Pakistan,
Abdul Sami Malik, UNICEF Pakistan,
WHO
Maryam Yunus, WHO Pakistan,
Notes to editors
So far donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, European Union, Australia, Bhutan, Canada, Colombia, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Monaco, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Anonymous Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, KS Relief/Gamers Without Borders, Mastercard, Medline International, Nikkei Inc., Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin, Shell, Thistledown Foundation, TikTok, Transferwise, Soccer Aid.
The list of donor pledges to COVAX AMC is available here.
About COVAX
COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO – working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries.
CEPI is leading on the COVAX vaccine research and development portfolio, investing in R&D across a variety of promising candidates, with the goal to support development of three safe and effective vaccines which can be made available to countries participating in the COVAX Facility. As part of this work, CEPI has secured first right of refusal to potentially over one billion doses for the COVAX Facility to a number of candidates, and made strategic investments in vaccine manufacturing, which includes reserving capacity to manufacture doses of COVAX vaccines at a network of facilities, and securing glass vials to hold 2 billion doses of vaccine. CEPI is also investing in the ‘next generation’ of vaccine candidates, which will give the world additional options to control COVID-19 in the future.
Gavi leads on procurement and elivery at scale for COVAX: designing and managing the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its traditional Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. As part of this role, Gavi hosts the Office of the COVAX Facility to coordinate the operation and governance of the mechanism as a whole, holds financial and legal relationships with 193 Facility participants, and manages the COVAX Facility deals portfolio: negotiating advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of promising vaccine candidates to secure doses on behalf of all COVAX Facility participants. Gavi also coordinates design, operationalisation and fundraising for the Gavi COVAX AMC, the mechanism that provides access to donor-funded doses of vaccine to 92 lower-income economies. As part of this work, Gavi provides funding and oversight for UNICEF procurement and delivery of vaccines to all AMC participants – operationalising the advance purchase agreements between Gavi and manufacturers – as well as support for partners’ and governments work on readiness and delivery. This includes tailored support to governments, UNICEF, WHO and other partners for cold chain equipment, technical assistance, syringes, vehicles, and other aspects of the vastly complex logistical operation for delivery. Gavi also co-designed, raises funds for and supports the operationalisation of the AMC’s no-fault compensation mechanism as well as the COVAX Humanitarian Buffer.
WHO has multiple roles within COVAX: It provides normative guidance on vaccine policy, regulation, safety, R&D, allocation, and country readiness and delivery. Its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization develops evidence-based immunization policy recommendations. Its Emergency Use Listing (EUL)/prequalification programmes ensure harmonized review and authorization across member states. It provides global coordination and member state support on vaccine safety monitoring. It developed the target product profiles for COVID-19 vaccines and provides R&D technical coordination. WHO leads, along with UNICEF, the support to countries as they prepare to receive and administer vaccines. The Country Readiness and Delivery (CRD) workstream includes Gavi and numerous other partners working at the global, regional, and countrylevel to provide tools, guidance, monitoring, and on the ground technical assistance for the planning and roll-out of the vaccines. Along with COVAX partners, WHO is also developing a no-fault compensation scheme as part of the time-limited indemnification and liability commitments.
UNICEF is leveraging its experience as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world and working with manufacturers and partners on the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine doses, as well as freight, logistics and storage. UNICEF already procures more than 2 billion doses of vaccines annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries. In collaboration with the PAHO Revolving Fund, UNICEF is leading efforts to procure and supply doses of COVID-19 vaccines for COVAX. In addition, UNICEF, Gavi and WHO are working with governments around the clock to ensure that countries are ready to receive the vaccines, with appropriate cold chain equipment in place and health workers trained to dispense them. UNICEF is also playing a lead role in efforts to foster trust in vaccines, delivering vaccine confidence communications and tracking and addressing misinformation around the world.
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About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 822 million children – and prevented more than 14 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill 4 & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org and www.unicef.org/pakistan. For more information about COVID-19, visit www.unicef.org/coronavirus. Find out more about UNICEF’s work on the COVID-19 vaccines here, or about UNICEF’s work on immunization here. Follow UNICEF Pakistan on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About WHO
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.
For updates on COVID-19 and public health advice to protect yourself from coronavirus, visit www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube. Follow WHO Pakistan on Twitter and Facebook.
“My Hero is You” mental health campaign enhances resilience among parents and children in Syria
8 July 2021, Damascus – One in 10 people in Syria live with a mild to moderate mental health condition. Prolonged exposure to conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to strain the mental well-being of families. In response, WHO Syria and local nongovernmental organizations in Rural Damascus recently launched the “My Hero Is You” campaign, which aims to reduce anxiety and fear associated with COVID-19 among children, and enhance the ability of parents to effectively talk to children about their well-being.
The pilot campaign reached 5000 children and included messages about how to cope with stress delivered through a colouring book. The book was adapted to the Syria context and is based on a children’s story, entitled “My Hero is You”, developed by WHO and other members of an United Nations inter-agency committee on mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings. The campaign also included the provision of psychosocial support sessions and focus group discussions, attended by 2000 parents, caregivers and health educators who discussed their concerns, coping mechanisms and support strategies for children experiencing stress in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In recent years, there has been increasing acknowledgement of the role of mental health in people’s overall well-being and, especially, children’s development. In Syria, the conflict was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse economic impact, so the need to address mental health has become even more acute. Thus, our increased focus on mental health aims at listening to communities – to their fears, concerns and experiences of coping with COVID-19 - and empowering them with tools and skills to stay mentally resilient and adapt to a new normal,” said Dr Akjemal Magtymova, WHO Representative in Syria.
The campaign, funded by the WHO Regional Solidarity Initiative, was made possible thanks to partnerships with Al-Tal and Al-Qutayfah nongovernmental organizations, members of which received training by WHO prior to the campaign launch. The training was based on the WHO global package and adapted to the Syrian context to tailor it to the current needs of community workers who provide basic psychosocial support services to parents and children.
“I am proud to be part of the initiative through which I could teach parents and children how to overcome anxieties and stay positive despite the circumstances surrounding them. It was a joy to observe children reading and colouring the story and imagining themselves travelling around Syria with characters, like Ario, to share with other children what they have learned from the book and what to do to prevent transmission of COVID-19,” said Ahmed Sousan, 30, a volunteer from Rural Damacus who received WHO training.
“Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and work life balance were among the recommendations I received during the psychosocial support sessions, in addition to tips on how to talk to children about COVID-19 related fears. It was important for me to share how the pandemic affected the mental well-being of my family. I felt others shared the same concerns and together we can overcome the challenges of the current times,” said one of the parents at the Al-Tal centre.
Following the success of the pilot programme in Rural Damascus, WHO plans to replicate the initiative in Homs, Aleppo and other governorates this year to reach thousands of parents and children in need of mental health support; and in collaboration with the Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean will also share the initiative’s best practices for other countries in the Region to replicate.
Media contact
Gulalek Soltanova
External Relations/Communications Officer
WHO Syria Office
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
+963 953 888 477
World Health Day event, 13 April 2021
On Tuesday 13 April 2021, WHO in the occupied Palestinian territory held an online event with the Palestinian Ministry of Health and civil society partners to mark the launch of a year-long campaign towards Building a Fairer, Healthier World. The campaign focuses on addressing the preventable, systematic differences in health outcomes that result from the political, economic, and social conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age.
The Minister of Health, Dr Mai Al-Kaila, opened the event outlining how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and highlighted substantial challenges for the Palestinian health system. She emphasized that violations of the human rights of Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip hinder access to and provision of health care and disproportionately affect certain communities – such as those in Area C of the West Bank and those living close to the separation barrier. Dr Al-Kaila highlighted how unequal access to vaccines for COVID-19 underscores the need for global justice and solidarity, and she welcomed the support provided by WHO and the international community, including through the COVAX initiative. She also thanked civil society health and human rights organizations for their efforts and support in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was split into three sessions. The first outlined barriers to health due to policies and practices in Area C of the West Bank, with presentations provided by Medicins Du Monde, the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, and Action Against Hunger. Speakers detailed the impact on mental health of precarity and home demolitions; the challenges to mobile clinic access and the substantial health needs of communities in this area; and the barriers to establishment of infrastructure for water and sanitation, essential for livelihoods and for the protection and realization of good health. The second session of the online briefing addressed the impact of severe movement restrictions in the Gaza Strip, focusing on the effect on health of limitations to access for patients, including specifically for women, livelihoods in the Access Restricted Areas close to the Gaza perimeter fence, and food insecurity and poverty. Presentations were delivered by the Culture and Free Thought Association in the Gaza Strip, Première Urgence Internationale, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. Finally, the event concluded with a presentation by the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq, which examined how protection and human rights vulnerabilities for Palestinians throughout the occupied Palestinian territory contribute to health challenges and health inequities.
Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative to the occupied Palestinian territory, thanked the Palestinian Ministry of Health and partner organizations and praised the collective efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of difficult circumstances. He stated, “The central message of the World Health Day campaign this year is that health is a right, not a privilege. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the profound health inequities that exist globally and that are evident for Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. This is exemplified by the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, where it is clear that no one is safe until everyone is safe.” Dr Peeperkorn invited participants to join in collective advocacy efforts for the right to health of Palestinians and wished all a successful World Health Day 2021 campaign towards Building a Fairer, Healthier World.
