UNICEF brings stark imbalance of global Covid-19 vaccine rollout to Irish towns and cities
The total number of people fully vaccinated in Uganda – with its population of almost 46 million – is the same as Galway’s. But in the vast African state, that’s just 0.45 per cent of the population.
That’s the shocking analogy rolled out by UNICEF this week to show how vulnerable the world remains to the threat of Covid.
And it’s not just Uganda; there are as many people vaccinated in Kilkenny as Chad, in Cork as Sierra Leone and in Syria as Co Limerick.
As it stands, only seven per cent of people living in low-income countries have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In a bid to deliver vaccines to some of the world's most vulnerable countries, UNICEF – helped by its Ambassador and former Galway star Joe Canning – brought the stark reality of the global vaccine effort to the streets of Ireland recently.
And their message was clear. There is so much left to do around the world to make sure everyone gets access to life-saving Covid-19 vaccines.
“People in Ireland have been incredibly supportive of UNICEF’s campaign to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest countries,” said Joe.
“The idea that people in countries already facing the biggest challenges, from conflict, poverty or other issues, are now at greatest risk of Covid-19 is simply not fair. And people in Ireland get that.
“That is why I’m so passionate about the campaign to vaccinate the world, and I hope everyone will continue to get behind it this Christmas,” he added.
Covid-19 vaccines have given Ireland a critical buffer against the worst impacts of the virus, however according to UNICEF, the risk remains high for billions of people around the world.
That’s why UNICEF is working to deliver three billion Covid-19 vaccines to the most vulnerable families, health workers and high-risk people on our planet.
UNICEF Ireland's Executive Director Peter Power said it was important to bring the numbers out into the open to draw attention to the stark differences and help end the pandemic.
“Bringing the pandemic under control is the absolute priority, but we cannot end a global pandemic one country at a time,” he said.
“It is not right that people in lower income countries must wait months for access to COVID-19 vaccine doses. The more opportunities the virus has to spread anywhere in the world, the more chances it has to mutate, allowing new variants to emerge. We are seeing that now, and it is another stark reminder that no one is safe, until we are all safe,” said Mr Power.