In a bid to speed up distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world through the emirate, Dubai has launched the Vaccine Logistics Alliance
“In support of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Covax initiative and its efforts to equitably distribute two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, the Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance combines the expertise and global reach of Emirates airline with DP World’s worldwide network of ports and logistics operations, along with the infrastructure of Dubai Airports and International Humanitarian City to distribute vaccines worldwide,” said HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, chairman of Dubai Airports, and chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group. “The distribution will particularly focus on emerging markets where populations have been hard hit by the pandemic, and pharmaceutical transport and logistics are challenging,” he added.
The alliance is working with a broader set of stakeholders including pharmaceutical manufacturers, forwarders, government agencies and other entities for transportation of the vaccines.
Watch an introductory video about the alliance here.
Sheikh Ahmed added: "Each alliance partner brings to the table a specific and complementary set of strengths and capabilities in vaccine distribution, allowing us to build a 360-degree solution that harnesses the combined logistical and infrastructural advantages of Dubai as a hub. Together, we are able to store a large volume of vaccine doses at a time and bring in and distribute vaccines to any point around the world within 48 hours."
International Humanitarian City, the world’s largest hub for humanitarian logistics based in Dubai, will be a vital partner in the Alliance, bringing its expertise in humanitarian logistics for aid materials such as food and medicine in markets with limited infrastructure. “IHC and Emirates SkyCargo have already partnered on many humanitarian cargo flights - and earlier in 2020 signed an MoU for closer collaboration for humanitarian assistance flights,” he said.
On Wednesday, DP World and Unicef also announced a wide-ranging partnership to support the global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and related immunisation supplies in low- and lower-middle-income countries. The new partnership - with a multi-million dollar value - is the largest to date to support Unicef’s lead role in procuring and supplying 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines and auxiliary vaccination supplies on behalf of the Covax facility.
