Friday 12 June, Islamabad – WHO and UNICEF have applauded the Government of Pakistan’s continued efforts to eradicate polio. The United Nations agencies commended the concerted efforts made to make sure that vaccination programmes continued even during COVID-19 surges in the country.
Both agencies urged greater solidarity and investment to sustain the momentum and reach every child with life-saving vaccines. These reflections were made by UNICEF South Asia Regional Director George Laryea-Adjei and WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari as they concluded a week-long joint visit to Pakistan.
The visit coincides with the first Polio Oversight Board's visit to the country, and the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)'s new 2022–2026 strategy.
“We know that the most important relationship in polio eradication is between the vaccinator and the child’s family. Without communication and trust, there is no vaccination. This week, I have seen a renewed focus on bolstering that relationship in the most high-risk areas of Pakistan. I appreciate the huge role played by frontline works in building that trust, and the support provided by the Government and partners to these workers. I leave Pakistan filled with hope that 'all hands are on deck' to finish the last mile in the journey to eradicate polio in the country,” said UNICEF South Asia Regional Director George Laryea-Adjei.
Commenting on this mission, WHO Regional Director Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari said, “I have witnessed a back-to-basics approach to raise campaign quality and most importantly the need for laser focus on repeatedly missed children by provincial health ministers and chief secretaries – this is the only way we will slash the number of missed children down to zero. The GPEI leadership, including WHO and UNICEF, all have a role to play in turning the tide in Pakistan, but the real leader must be the Government of Pakistan on its emergency footing and best practices from its COVID-19 response, and this mission has showcased the diligence and accountability that Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government are applying to eradication.”
The visit highlighted the impact of COVID-19 and the changes made in Pakistan’s national polio programme. The regional directors also noted the opportunity for Pakistan to capitalize on the very few polio cases in the country and for GPEI partners to optimize support to intensified efforts by national and provincial governments to end polio.
The two regional directors met with top-level leadership, including the Chief of Army Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa, and attended the National Task Force meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and participated in by provincial chief ministers.
They visited Peshawar and Karachi and participated in field activities, including the ongoing polio vaccination campaign in areas that have persistently challenged the polio programme. In order to stamp out polio for good, every child living in these high-risk areas must be reached with the oral polio vaccine multiple times.
The regional directors visited routine immunization centres, where there is a growing synergy between polio campaigns and routine immunization and attended health facilities designed to help high-risk populations access health care and boost vulnerable children’s immunity.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where wild poliovirus is endemic, and together constitute one epidemiological block. After losing traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the polio programmes in each country were retooled as pandemic support, there are now promising results. The cases of wild poliovirus are down once again to just one to date in 2021 in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
During their mission, Dr Al-Mandhari and Mr Laryea-Adjei commended the successes yet warned against complacency and urged that the hard work be continued until every last child is reached with vaccination.
12 May 2021 – As we come to the end of the holy month of Ramadan, I would like to wish everyone in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and beyond a blessed and happy Eid al-Fitr.
During this holiday, we not only celebrate the end of dawn-to-sunset fasting during Ramadan, but we also pay respect to Allah for giving us the strength to practise self control during the month-long rituals of rigorous fasting and prayer.
On the first morning of Eid al-Fitr, Muslims around the world attend mass prayers in mosques. Following this, the remainder of the holiday is typically marked by the wearing of fine clothing, greeting friends and loved ones, and coming together to share traditional foods and exchange gifts.
But while Eid al-Fitr gives us an opportunity to relax from the month-long rituals of Ramadan, let us not relax the practices that protect us and others from COVID-19.
In a few weeks, our Region will reach the shocking milestone of 10 million people infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. This points to only one reason: that we are not doing everything we can do to contain and control this virus.
Too many people are becoming complacent and not adhering to the measures needed to help us save lives, giving the virus opportunities to spread further.
I urge you all, during this holiday season and beyond, to not just celebrate the mark of a new holy month, but to also celebrate life, by making sure that no one is put in a position where they unknowingly spread the virus or are infected by others.
Let us make sure that this Eid al-Fitr, no one is infected or dies as a result of their own complacent behaviour, or that of others. Let us make the coming period one of joy and not mourning for families who may lose loved ones or friends. We all deserve to celebrate Eid al-Fitr safely this year.
In these trying times, let us use opportunities like Eid al-Fitr to spread love, gratitude and hope.
We can do this by performing our Eid al-Fitr prayers alone or with the family at home, as announced last year by Al Azhar and Dar Al Iftaa.
We can stay physically distant but socially connected by avoiding physical greetings, social feasts, and other social gatherings.
These small acts of self-restraint are easy to do and can have huge consequences on containing the spread of COVID-19 in the Region and serving the common good.
I wish you, your families and loved ones a safe and healthy Eid al-Fitr.
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More than one million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine delivered by COVAX Facility to support Government’s efforts to vaccinate high-risk people across Pakistan
Islamabad, 8 May 2021 – Today Pakistan received its first shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines (SII-AZ AZD1222) from the COVAX Facility.
The consignment of 1 238 400 doses of vaccines, which will be followed by another of 1 236 000 in a few days, will support the Government of Pakistan’s ongoing historic drive to bring the pandemic to an end. Further allocations from June onwards will be confirmed in due course. The goal of the COVAX Facility is to supply Pakistan with enough doses to vaccinate 20% of the population depending on availability.
Dr Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, welcomed this first consignment together with representatives of COVAX technical and funding partners at the headquarters of the National Emergency Operations Centre.
“In this unprecedented crisis, we appreciate the COVAX Facility and GAVI’s contribution to the collective effort to fight COVID-19 in Pakistan,” said Dr Faisal Sultan. “Sometimes, such crises propel innovation and to this end, we were able to quickly expand the capacity of the Expanded Programme on Immunization's facilities to vaccinate our eligible population against COVID-19. Recently, we have been administering almost 200 000 doses a day and we will be able to increase to 0.5 million doses a day very soon. I urge everyone above the age of 40 to register to get vaccinated so we can continue our mission to immunize our fellow citizens, especially the ones who fall in the high-risk and vulnerable groups. Very soon, we will be able to expand the campaign to other age groups and demographics.”
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines will supplement the vaccines purchased by the Government of Pakistan and help boost the drive to immunize frontline health workers, senior citizens and other priority groups identified in the national deployment and vaccination plan developed under the leadership of the National Command Operation Centre.
More than 3.3 million vaccine doses have been administered to health care workers and citizens at large. The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination also ramped up the cold chain capacity of the Expanded Programme on Immunization to meet the requirements of the vaccine deployment plan. This also includes ultra-cold chain facilities in 15 large cities. Currently, citizens above the age of 40 can register and get vaccinated by following an easy process. Citizens above the age of 50 can walk into the nearest centre and get vaccinated. Some districts are also providing at-home services for senior citizens. Sinopharm, Sinovac, CanSino-Bio and Sputnik doses have been administered in Pakistan so far.
The 2.47 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be used to immunize about 1.24 million high-risk people against the virus.
Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and is manufactured by AstraZeneca and COVISHIELD, licensed to and manufactured by AstraZeneca-SKBioscience (AZ-SKBio) in South Korea. It has gone through a rigorous processes to ensure safety and efficacy and has been given the greenlight by the World Health Organization to be rolled out globally.
“Over the past year, WHO has been standing side by side with the Government of Pakistan providing technical guidance and new tools needed to prepare for, prevent, detect and respond to the spread of this new virus. Today, we are delighted to receive the COVID-19 vaccine that will safely and effectively prevent needless suffering. This vaccine has gone through clinical trials and has been approved for use in Pakistan and around the world,” said Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan. “Right now, WHO's focus is on supporting Pakistan to end the pandemic, including with these new vaccines and the public health measures that have been the bedrock of the response for 15 months. We thank the Government of Pakistan for their commitment to ensure these vaccines are swiftly administered all across Pakistan and our health care workers for their hard work and dedication during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The COVAX Facility, a global partnership, is co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO); Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), along with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It is funded thanks to generous support from partner governments, foundations and private sector corporations.
The goal of the COVAX Facility is to ensure that safe, effective COVID-19 vaccines are rapidly available to all countries around the world regardless of income level, to help end the acute phase of the pandemic as quickly as possible. It aims to provide at least 2 billion doses of approved COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021, enabling the protection of frontline health care and social workers, as well as other high-risk and vulnerable groups in what will be the largest immunization campaign in history.
“UNICEF is proud to be leading efforts to procure and supply safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccines on behalf of the COVAX Facility which aims to quickly reach people in low- and middle-income countries and ensures that no one at risk is left behind. UNICEF commends the Government of Pakistan for its leadership in the national response to the pandemic, including the successful roll-out of the national vaccination programme, and thanks the COVAX partners for their generous contribution. Solidarity is key to ending the pandemic. No one is safe until everyone is safe”, said Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “I urge all those who are eligible to get vaccinated and appeal to everyone to strictly comply with COVID-19 safety measures to curb the spread of virus.”
“This delivery – the first of many – is the product of an unprecedented global partnership to ensure no country is left behind in the global race for COVID-19 vaccines," said Alexa Reynolds, Gavi Senior Country Manager for Pakistan. "These vaccines are safe, they are effective, and they will play an important role in helping the country to end this pandemic."
850 131 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Pakistan since the start of the outbreak and 18 677 people have succumbed to the disease so far.
Key preventive behaviours against the coronavirus include regularly washing hands with soap for at least 20 seconds or using a sanitizer; wearine a mask; remaining at least 6 feet away from other people; avoiding crowded places; and staying home when having COVID-19 symptoms.
COVAX technical and funding partners will continue to work with the Government through the pandemic to ensure that no one is left behind.
The following diplomatic missions and COVAX donors attended the handover ceremony:
”We welcome the opportunity to concretely show our solidarity with the Government of Pakistan and support its efforts to fight the coronavirus through this important delivery of vaccines. We are proud to play our part in the global COVAX initiative, alongside our partners, as it helps to complement efforts where vaccines are needed. For the time being SOPs still need to be followed,” said Ms Androulla Kaminara, Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan.
“The United States welcomes the successful arrival in Pakistan of 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. We remain committed to working bilaterally and multilaterally to support access to vaccines for the world’s most at-risk populations,” said U.S. Embassy Chargé d'affaires Angela P. Aggeler. “This pandemic has shown the importance of partnerships, such as the longstanding partnership between the United States and Pakistan, which has enabled us to more effectively respond to this health crisis together.”
“I’m proud of the UK’s role in developing the Oxford University AstraZeneca vaccine that Pakistan is receiving today. The UK is one of the world’s biggest contributors to the COVAX facility - donating US£ 548 million to make sure countries get the vaccines they need, including Pakistan," said Dr Christian Turner, British High Commissioner to Pakistan.
“Today’s arrival of the first COVAX batch in Pakistan is an important milestone for fighting this pandemic together. It is also a strong token of multilateralism and international solidarity at its best. Germany, as second largest donor, is proud of contributing to the COVAX facility more than 1.5 billion EUR because we are convinced: An inclusive global access to vaccines is the need of the hour and nobody is safe until everyone is safe!” said Dr Philipp Deichmann, Charge d’Affaires /DHM, Embassy of Germany in Pakistan.
For more information, please contact:
Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination
Sajjid Shah
+92 301 5103069
Taha Tariq
UNICEF
Catherine Weibel
UNICEF Pakistan
+92 300 500 2592
WHO
Maryam Yunus
WHO Pakistan
+92 300 8441744
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.
List of donor pledges to COVAX AMC
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 is leading on procurement and delivery for COVAX, coordinating the design and implementation of the COVAX Facility and the COVAX AMC and working with Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery. The COVAX Facility is the global pooled procurement mechanism for COVID-19 vaccines through which COVAX will ensure fair and equitable access to vaccines for all 190 participating economies, using an allocation framework formulated by WHO. The COVAX Facility will do this by pooling buying power from participating economies and providing volume guarantees across a range of promising vaccine candidates. The Gavi COVAX AMC is the financing mechanism that will support the participation of 92 low- and middle-income countries in the Facility, enabling access to donor-funded doses of safe and effective vaccines. UNICEF and the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) will be acting as procurement coordinators for the COVAX Facility, helping deliver vaccines to all participants.
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 country-level 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.
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 & 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.
