COVAX information centre

UNICEF and partners led the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history.

COVID-19 vaccines procured by the COVAX facility arrive at the airport in Kigali in Rwanda.

Vaccinating the world against COVID-19 was the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history. UNICEF and partners, with generous support from our donors, worked around the clock to ensure that no country was left behind.

COVAX, the multilateral mechanism for equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, closed at the end of 2023 having delivered nearly 2 billion doses of vaccines to 146 economies.

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UNICEF's role

Through the COVAX Facility – together with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and CEPI – UNICEF leveraged its unique experience as the largest single vaccine buyer in the world.  

During the pandemic, we worked with manufacturers and partners on the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine doses, as well as freight, logistics and storage. 

While the COVAX initiative is now closed, UNICEF will continue to deliver vaccines to children around the world to stop the spread of preventable diseases and build strong national healthcare systems for the future.  

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global collaboration to speed up the development, production and equal access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines. COVAX (the vaccines pillar of the ACT-Accelerator) aimed to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to make sure that they reach the poorest countries in the world. 

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