WHO and UNICEF to partner on pandemic response

Through COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund

Unprecedented fund an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach to tackle COVID-19 pandemic

3 April 2020 News release New York/Geneva/Washington, DC

Courtesy Photo

WHO and UNICEF today announced an agreement to work together on COVID-19 response, through the historic COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund powered by the United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation.  

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund has been set up to facilitate an unprecedented global response by supporting the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. As part of the agreement, an initial portion of the money from the Fund – which currently stands at more than $127 million – will flow to UNICEF for its work with vulnerable children and communities all over the world.

“COVID-19 is an unprecedented pandemic requiring extraordinary global solidarity to urgently respond,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “I’m pleased that UNICEF joined the Solidarity Response Fund. With their extensive experience both in fundraising and in implementing programmes, this partnership will help us to work together closely to save lives.”

The money collected through the fund will be used, among others, to train and equip communities and health-care workers to prevent, detect and treat COVID-19. It will help countries expand their health-care capacity and mitigate its social impact, especially on women, children and vulnerable social groups. And it will accelerate research and development of treatments and preventive vaccines.

As a key partner in this joined-up effort, UNICEF will lead emergency efforts to ensure families and communities in the most vulnerable countries are fully engaged in the response and have access to water, sanitation and hygiene and other infection prevention and control measures. UNICEF will also ensure children, caretakers, and frontline responders such as social workers, teachers and healthcare workers are supported through evidence-based guidance through its vast community outreach and country programs.

“This is an extraordinary emergency that demands an extraordinary response, and we need all-hands on deck—individuals, corporations, foundations, governments and other organizations around the world,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “UNICEF is pleased to join the Solidarity Response Fund. It will bolster our efforts to strengthen health and sanitation systems and help protect the most vulnerable families from knock-on impacts of COVID-19 on already overstretched health systems.”

Funds raised will be spent in alignment with the global response plan, and where needs are greatest. At the direction of WHO leadership, it is expected that resources will go directly toward:

WHO, for its work to track the spread of the virus, assess gaps and needs, equip frontline health workers with personal protective equipment, ensure lab and testing tools are available in countries around the world, and keep communities and frontline responders informed with the latest technical guidance.

UNICEF, to ensure children and families around the world are equipped with all the evidence-based information and latest WHO guidance as well as locally relevant information to protect themselves from the spread of COVID-19; to support vulnerable countries by providing access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and basic infection prevention and control measures; and to provide access to care for vulnerable families and children.

CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a key partner leading the financing for research and development for novel vaccines to combat COVID-19, working closely with WHO.

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was set up at WHO’s request by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation and launched three weeks ago. It is the only way for individuals and organizations to contribute directly to WHO’s global efforts to tackle the pandemic. To date the fund has $127 million raised or committed from more than 219,000 individuals from all over the world plus more than 90 global companies and organizations. The partnership is also a tremendous demonstration of solidarity across UN organizations in coordinating, partnering and supporting each other in dealing with the immediate and longer-term impact of the pandemic. 

“There has never been a more urgent need for global cooperation,” said Elizabeth Cousens, President & CEO of the UN Foundation. “The COVID-19 pandemic shows us that we all can play a part to stop the spread. The incredible generosity shown to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund from around the world will help WHO, UNICEF, CEPI and partners accelerate their lifesaving work, especially to support the most vulnerable communities and speed the development of a vaccine.”

###

Notes:

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. Learn more at https://unfoundation.org/

About WHO

WHO is the United Nations’ specialized agency for health. It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its Member States usually through the Ministries of Health. The World Health Organization is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends. Learn more at www.who.int.

About the United Nations Foundation

The UN Foundation brings together ideas, people, and resources to help the United Nations drive global progress and tackle urgent problems. Our hallmark is to collaborate for lasting change and innovate to address humanity’s greatest challenges. Learn more at www.unfoundation.org.

OHCHR, IOM, UNHCR and WHO joint press release:

 In COVID-19 response

The rights and health of refugees, migrants and stateless must be protected

To unite the world in the fight against coronavirus, WHO is bringing together a wide array of partners on a series of engaging initiatives to motivate and mobilize people to Be Ready to beat COVID-19, and to support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Musicians, footballers, athletes and artists will help you stay connected and healthy through shows of solidarity, lifesaving health messages and entertainment during lockdown.

Click on the campaigns below to learn how you can spread the word and help increase solidarity, awareness and funds to support the global response against COVID-19.

31 March 2020//Joint News Release

In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, we are all vulnerable. The virus has shown that it does not discriminate - but many refugees, those forcibly displaced, the stateless and migrants are at heightened risk. 

Three-quarters of the world’s refugees and many migrants are hosted in developing regions where health systems are already overwhelmed and under-capacitated.  Many live in overcrowded camps, settlements, makeshift shelters or reception centers, where they lack adequate access to health services, clean water and sanitation. 

The situation for refugees and migrants held in formal and informal places of detention, in cramped and unsanitary conditions, is particularly worrying. Considering the lethal consequences a COVID-19 outbreak would have, they should be released without delay. Migrant children and their families and those detained without a sufficient legal basis should be immediately released.

This disease can be controlled only if there is an inclusive approach which protects every individual’s rights to life and health.  Migrants and refugees are disproportionately vulnerable to exclusion, stigma and discrimination, particulary when undocumented.  To avert a catastrophe, governments must do all they can to protect the rights and the health of everyone. Protecting the rights and the health of all people will in fact help control the spread of the virus.

It is vital that everyone, including all migrants and refugees, are ensured equal access to health services and are effectively included in national responses to COVID-19, including prevention, testing and treatment. Inclusion will help not only to protect the rights of refugees and migrants, but will also serve to protect public health and stem the global spread of COVID-19.  While many nations protect and host refugee and migrant populations, they are often not equipped to respond to crises such as Covid-19. To ensure refugees and migrants have adequate access to national health services, States may need additional financial support. This is where the world’s financial institutions can play a leading role in making funds available. 

While countries are closing their borders and limiting cross-border movements, there are ways to manage border restrictions in a manner which respects international human rights and refugee protection standards, including the principle of non-refoulement, through quarantine and health checks. 

More than ever, as COVID-19 poses a global threat to our collective humanity, our primary focus should be on the preservation of life, regardless of status.  This crisis demands a coherent, effective international approach that leaves no-one behind.  At this crucial moment we all need to rally around a common objective, fighting this deadly virus. Many refugees, displaced, stateless people and migrants have skills and resources that can also be part of the solution.

We cannot allow fear or intolerance to undermine rights or compromise the effectiveness of responses to the global pandemic. We are all in this together. We can only defeat this virus when each and every one of us is protected.  (Courtesy: WHO)