Glanbia Co-op and Glanbia Ireland donate €20,000 to UNICEF

UNICEF’s campaign supports the organisation’s role in the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout, or COVAX facility, and is the biggest vaccine procurement and distribution drive in history. Glanbia Ireland and Glanbia Co-op Chairman, John Murphy, said: “COVID-19 has impacted all of our lives. It has been a tough and a challenging time for all of us. But the impact has been even greater in less developed parts of the world where vaccines are not available and the most vulnerable families, health workers and high-risk people have suffered even more.

“Our Co-op roots run deep in all of our communities. Our Board therefore felt that it is only fitting that we would do our best to ensure that the world’s most vulnerable people are not at further risk, and that Glanbia Co-op and Glanbia Ireland would make a €20,000 donation to the UNICEF programme on behalf of our farm families. Nobody is safe until everyone is safe and no child is safe until everyone they rely on is safe,” the Chairman said.

Peter Power, UNICEF Ireland Executive Director, said: “UNICEF is currently leading the largest-ever vaccine procurement and supply operation, as part of the global COVAX facility. Vaccinating the entire world can only be done at the scale UNICEF offers. COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out at pace, with over 975 million doses delivered to 144 countries via the COVAX facility so far.”

With the support of Glanbia Ireland, Co-op Members and many other supporters worldwide, UNICEF aims to reach 3 billion COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the most vulnerable families, health workers and high-risk people on our planet by the end of 2022.

“We are proud to have Glanbia and Glanbia Co-op as members of our UNICEF Corporate Vaccine Alliance, and their donation helps us ensure that vaccines get to the most remote and isolated places in the world; that they are stored safely using secure cold chain equipment; that health workers are vaccinated and protected against COVID-19 and that vulnerable families and children receive the life-saving care they need to survive,” said Mr Power.

UNICEF has spent 75 years saving children’s lives and fighting for their rights. UNICEF has been coordinating vaccine delivery to communities globally since 1948 and as a result has the cold chain and other critical infrastructure in place which make it uniquely placed to deliver.

The COVAX facility 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. UNICEF was asked to join COVAX by partners WHO, Gavi The Vaccine Alliance, and CEPI in 2020, due to its expertise in procuring half the world’s vaccines for children under 5 every year. After Gavi, the WHO or countries have paid for the vaccine doses themselves, €4.48 allows UNICEF to deliver two doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the point of arrival in-country to the individual, in countries facing humanitarian crisis.