UNICEF has signed agreements with several airlines as part of its Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative, which will support efforts to provide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines across the world.
The United Nations (UN) children’s fund today announced it had signed agreements with Air France KLM Martinair (AFKLMP) Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo, Etihad Cargo and IAG Cargo as part of its vaccine distribution efforts.
The agreements come after the UN established a Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) to ensure that less prosperous countries receive enough vaccines.
Based on the COVAX Facility’s indicative distribution and first round allocation plan, 145 countries will receive doses starting in the first half of 2021 to immunise around 3% of their population, on average, subject to all requirements being met and final allocation plans.
AFKLMP Cargo said it had many years of experience transporting temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals, was the first airline group to be CEIV Pharma certified by IATA and has developed a specific product for the distribution of vaccines.
GertJan Roelands, senior vice president sales and distribution Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, said: “We’re very pleased to be formalising our partnership with UNICEF by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. We’ve been working together for a long time and are confidently looking forward to participating in this Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.
“Our extensive global freight network, expertise, dedicated people and services will play an important role in ensuring the successful shipment of Covid-19 vaccines with the highest priority and under the required strict conditions.”
Emirates SkyCargo said it had signed an agreement with UNICEF to prioritise the transport of Covid-19 vaccines, essential medicines, medical devices and other critical supplies to help fight the pandemic.
Nabil Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice president, cargo, said: “Every single day counts in the fight against Covid-19 and the sooner that communities can have access to Covid-19 vaccines, the sooner they can curb the spread of the virus and get back on their feet.
“As a global player flying to more than 130 destinations, Emirates SkyCargo has been committed to the fight against the pandemic from the very early stages and we have rolled out a number of initiatives to expedite the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines through Dubai, starting with our GDP certified dedicated airside hub.”
Etihad Cargo said it will collaborate with UNICEF’s global freight forwarder network, including with regard to services for countries with no commercial access. Services offered include high loading priority for vaccines and essential humanitarian supplies, shipment security and controlled cool chain monitoring and adjusting Etihad Cargo’s cold chain capacity to meet UNICEF’s forecast requirements.
Martin Drew, senior vice president of sales and cargo, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Etihad Cargo will leverage its IATA CEIV-certified PharmaLife specialised pharmaceutical and healthcare product for the transportation of pharmaceuticals under temperature control which, under the membership of Abu Dhabi’s The HOPE Consortium, is already offering a complete supply chain solution to aid global Covid-19 vaccine distribution.”
IAG Cargo said its London Heathrow hub remains the only airside facility to be GDP certified and WDA licensed by the UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). In Madrid, Constant Climate shipments benefit from a brand-new pharmaceutical centre (GDP certified) dedicated to processing temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products.
John Cheetham, chief commercial officer at IAG Cargo, said: “We have many years’ experience flying vaccines and bio-science products around the world, delivering them safely to where they need to be.
“We’ve already transported over 1m doses of the Covid-19 vaccine across the world, alongside transporting medical equipment, other types of vaccines, Covid-19 testing kits and PPE, as well as continuing to transport everyday products the world needs. Our hub facilities are world-class, and our global team of Constant Climate professionals are specialists in their field and have been preparing for this operation for some time.”
