Binance Charity Donates $1 Million in Crypto to UNICEF for Global COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Binance Charity has announced the world’s first crypto donation to UNICEF’s role in the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout—the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation ever undertaken. The $1 million crypto donation to UNICEF-Luxembourg will support UNICEF’s role as the key delivery partner for the COVAX Facility, which aims to ensure global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. 

As the first pillar of Binance Charity’s Post-COVID Recovery Plan, the funding will support UNICEF’s role in helping to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to communities in 11 countries by the end of 2021: Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Brazil. As part of an ongoing partnership with UNICEF, the contribution could help cover all the costs of delivering more than 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines within low- and middle-income countries, including the costs of planning, transport, cold chain equipment and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). 

Sandra Visscher, Executive Director of UNICEF Luxembourg explains, "Vaccines do not only save lives, but they contribute to a return to normal, including for the many millions of children whose lives have been upended by the pandemic. UNICEF wants to ensure equitable access to vaccines for everyone, as the world will only be safe if everyone is safe. Since UNICEF is at the forefront of procuring and delivering vaccines, we can help to bring the pandemic under control so that we can start the work to build a better, safer, and healthier future for every child."

UNICEF, together with the COVAX Facility, aims to make 2 billion vaccines available by the end of 2021. This recent $1 million crypto donation to UNICEF’s role in the COVAX Facility is a continuation of Binance Charity’s efforts for a post-COVID recovery inclusive of all.

Binance Charity’s Role in Fighting the Pandemic

To date, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Binance Charity has raised about $5 million and donated 2 million PPEs to 26 countries that were adversely affected. 

“The pandemic has destroyed local economies and shut down entire countries, all while claiming the lives of more than two million people worldwide,” said Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity. “The events of the past year have collectively brought on new social and economic issues. With this, it’s presented a clear role for the cryptocurrency community in being able to provide support through transparent global giving, to those who are most in need.” 

Hai added, “The progress some countries have made in rolling out vaccines has been hugely impressive, but we want to make sure nobody is left behind. We’re proud to be supporting UNICEF in vaccine delivery, which will play a major role in getting everyone’s lives back. This partnership is in support of a world that ensures vaccines are readily available to all, so that we may end the pandemic together.”

Binance Charity, the philanthropic arm of Binance, will support UNICEF with financial assistance and extend its blockchain infrastructure expertise. The foundation has committed to leveraging its crypto and blockchain ecosystem to support the COVID-19 vaccine logistic and financial transparency, allowing the public to track all the funding distributed to UNICEF through its issued Binance wallet.

 In addition, Binance Charity also announced that it will release a limited edition NFT issued on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) to raise public awareness and encourage more fundraising on vaccine equality.

Preparing for a post-COVID recovery, Binance Charity, along with industry-leading authorities, aims to target 4 pillars to ensure an effective recovery to a post-COVID society. These pillars will focus on improving vaccine equality, women empowerment, and MSME assistance and education. 

Same Access to Vaccines for Everyone

As the largest single vaccine buyer in the world, UNICEF has a unique and longstanding expertise in procurement and logistics to help children in need. UNICEF not only procures more than 2 billion doses of vaccines annually for routine immunization and outbreak response on behalf of nearly 100 countries, but has also helped reach more than 760 million children with life-saving vaccines over the last 20 years, preventing more than 13 million deaths.

COVAX, the initiative dedicated to the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally, is an alliance between the World Health Organization, The Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). It is the only global initiative working with governments and manufacturers to ensure rapid and equitable access to vaccines for all countries, regardless of income.

The aim of COVAX is to effectively end the pandemic together by sharing vaccines amongst all countries. The world will only be safe if everyone is safe and protected against the virus.

Through the COVAX Facility, UNICEF works with manufacturers and partners on the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine doses, as well as freight, logistics, and storage. Additionally, UNICEF leads the procurement and delivery for 92 low- and lower middle-income countries while also supporting procurement for more than 97 upper-middle-income and high-income nations. Together, these represent more than four-fifths of the world’s population.

While significant commitments have been made to the COVAX Facility, further donations are necessary to meet the target of delivering the required doses for 2021.