Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A)
Humanitarian Action for Children
UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it
provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition,
education, health and protection services. Return to main appeal page.
Highlights
- The global Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines will be the largest and fastest procurement, supply and country readiness and delivery operation ever.
- Within this appeal, UNICEF and partners will deliver needed vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics and will work to support risk communication and community engagement as well as country preparedness efforts for the vaccine roll out, while supporting the strengthening of health systems.
- As of February 19, ACT-A faces a US$22.9 billion funding gap for 2021. To do its part to support ACT-A, UNICEF urgently requires US$659 million, which includes US$510 million to support the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to low and middle-income countries in 2021.
Funding requirements for 2021
Humanitarian needs and strategy
Humanitarian needs
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented global health, humanitarian, socio-economic and human rights crisis, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of affected children. Since the outbreak began, COVID-19 has spread to over 215 countries and territories. Vaccines for COVID-19 are critical tools for helping bring the pandemic under control when combined with effective testing and existing prevention measures. The large global demand will mean that not everyone will be able to get the vaccine at the same time. It will take months, or even years, to manufacture enough vaccine doses for everyone around the world. As of mid-February, 130 countries have not received a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 10 countries have administered 75% of the world’s supply. COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the ACT-A, has been established to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for all countries globally. COVID-19 is a global problem requiring a global solution and we will not be protected or safe from COVID-19 until the entire world is protected.
The complexities are enormous, and the timeline is unprecedented. This will be the largest and fastest procurement, supply and country readiness and delivery operation ever. As of February 19, ACT-A faces a US$22.9 billion funding gap for 2021. Incremental costs for delivery of COVID-19 vaccines procured through COVAX to low- and middle-income countries in 2021 are estimated at around US$2 billion. As donors are invited to contribute directly to the agencies that make up ACT-A, UNICEF is fundraising for a portion of these overall ACT-A funding gaps.
UNICEF’s strategy
The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) is a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. UNICEF and partners will buy and deploy needed vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics and will work to support country readiness for the vaccine roll out, while supporting the strengthening of health systems. These actions will help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially save lives of frontline workers and high-risk populations, make health systems more resilient and ultimately, help ensure that the children in low- and middle-income countries survive and thrive. Via our efforts, we will contribute towards ACT-A’s targets to deliver 2 billion vaccine doses, 165 million therapeutic courses and 900 million diagnostic tests to low- and middle-income countries in a safe and equitable way in 2021.
To do our part in supporting the ACT-A and to contribute to fill funding gaps, UNICEF requires US$659 million in 2021 to support:
- The Vaccine Pillar with commodities needed for safe vaccine administration, such as cold chain equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), and hand hygiene (soap and hand sanitizer), operational costs for vaccine delivery and associated technical assistance. Crucially, this also includes support for vaccine delivery to humanitarian populations.
- The Diagnostics Pillar with the purchase and delivery of rapid COVID-19 diagnostic tests, as well as the associated technical assistance for roll-out and rapid scale up of novel technologies on the ground.
- The Therapeutics Pillar with the purchase and delivery of novel and repurposed treatments for COVID-19 and associated technical assistance for country preparedness activities, including drug safety surveillance and reporting, as well as the training of staff.
- Contribute to the health systems connector by providing Risk Communication and Community Engagement in countries to promote trust and support adoption for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests.
Programme targets
UNICEF in action
Ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 health supplies: UNICEF's
role in ACT-A/COVAX
Together with partners in the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and COVAX, UNICEF is working to ensure countries have safe, fast and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines when the initial doses
become available.
Find out more about UNICEF's work
Highlights
Humanitarian Action is at the core of UNICEF’s mandate to realize the rights of every child. This edition of Humanitarian Action for Children – UNICEF’s annual humanitarian fundraising appeal – describes the ongoing global Access to COVID19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) collaboration; the strategies that we are using to respond to this situation; and the donor support that is essential in this response.
