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Qatar Red Crescent to launch $100 million vaccination project
Qatar Red Crescent to launch $100 million vaccination project
Qatar Red Crescent is raising funds to reach the $100 million needed for a global vaccination initiative aiming vulnerable populations in 20 countries.
2 min read
The initiative called 'Leave no one behind' is at the stage of campaign [Getty]
The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) announced on Monday that it will launch a $100 million global vaccination initiative for more than three million vulnerable people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The humanitarian organisation said the drive will help vaccinate refugees, internally displaced peoples, and migrants in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East over a period of three years.
The humanitarian organisation said the drive will help vaccinate refugees, internally displaced peoples, and migrants in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East over a period of three years.
In an online press conference, the QRCS said the 'Leave no one behind' campaign is currently raising the $100 million needed. The vaccination programme will be implemented in partnership with the World Health Organization.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has been a devastating demonstration that we are one humanity, and that we can only face shared threats with shared solutions," said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the conference on Monday.
"While the pandemic has affected all of us, the poorest and most marginalised have been hit hardest - both in terms of lives and livelihoods lost."
The WHO also thanked the QRCS for its new initiative, highlighting that the drive "will generate new resources to expand access to Covid-19 vaccines".
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The QRCS initiative will target not only vulnerable populations, but also their most vulnerable members, such as the elderly and those suffering from co-morbidities, and humanitarian workers helping through the pandemic.
The aim is for 400,000 innoculations per country.
The Qatari ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs already pledged around $2.7 million, and the Turkish Red Crescent promised to contribute.
"The combination of the health impacts and secondary effects of Covid-19 has been especially difficult in conflict settings," Dr. Omar Odeh, head of regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said at the press conference.
The QRCS was established in 1978 and recognised by the ICRC in 1981.
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