UNICEF to lead global procurement, supply of COVID vaccines

Context: The vaccine procurement and distribution effort, involving over 170 economies, has the potential to become the world’s largest and fastest ever operation of its kind.

More about news:

• The UNICEF will be leading the procurement and supply of coronavirus vaccines to ensure that all countries have safe, fast and equitable access to initial doses when they are available.
  • The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is the world’s largest single vaccine buyer, procuring more than 2 billion doses of various vaccines annually for routine immunisation and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries.
• The UNICEF has expressed their intent to participate in the COVAX Facility and would finance the vaccines from their own budgets.
• The vaccine procurement and distribution effort, involving over 170 economies, has the potential to become the world’s largest and fastest ever operation of its kind.
• “This is an partnership between governments, manufacturers and multilateral partners to continue the high-stakes fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,”

COVAX Global Vaccines Facility

• It is the vaccine pillar of the ACT-Accelerator, an initiative launched in April to speed up development of medicines to treat COVID-19 and make them available to people everywhere.
• The COVAX Facility is open to all countries to ensure that no country is left without access to a future COVID-19 vaccine.
• It is operated by World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), alongside multinational and developing country vaccine manufacturers.
• The facility works to ensure as many countries as possible cooperate to pool development, procurement and allocation of any COVID-19 vaccines.

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/draft-environment-impact-assessment-norms-explained-6482324/