Covid-19 vaccine: UAE has distributed over 20 million doses globally

Abu Dhabi - Hope Consortium working towards target of delivering 18 billion vaccines by the end of next year.

Ismail Sebugwaawo

Published: Thu 25 Mar 2021, 7:59 PM

Last updated: Mon 29 Mar 2021, 12:12 PM

Abu Dhabi’s Hope Consortium has distributed over 20 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to 26 countries since it was formed late last year, authorities announced on Thursday.

The consortium, which was launched in Abu Dhabi in November 2020, is working towards a target of delivering 18 billion vaccines around the world by the end of next year.

“Abu Dhabi ports have developed one of the best storages for the vaccines. We don’t only deliver them to airports across the world but also coordinate with governments to transport the vaccines to hospitals or centres where they will be administered from,” said Capt Mohamed Juma Al Shamsi, group CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports and chairman of the Operations Steering Committee of Hope Consortium.

At a media preview of the two-day World Immunisation and Logistics Summit on Thursday, Al Shamsi shared how the UAE Capital provides the efficient end-to-end supply chain solution to the world.

“Abu Dhabi doesn’t only hold a strategic geographical location that serves positively the logistics aspect of any pandemic, it also offers a combination of infrastructure, technology, capabilities and partnerships,” he said.

Amid a surge in vaccine logistics demand, the Hope Consortium represents a complete solution to address vaccine transport, demand planning, sourcing, training, and digital technology infrastructure. It is comprised of leading entities, including the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi; Etihad Cargo; Abu Dhabi Ports Group; Rafed, the healthcare purchasing arm of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ; and Switzerland’s SkyCell, which develops temperature-controlled logistics containers for the pharmaceutical industry.

Al Shamsi noted that the first year of the pandemic has shown the importance of forging partnerships to mobilise global resources in the fight against Covid-19. “The pandemic has shown how we can successfully come together to save human lives and as the response, we launched the Hope Consortium.”

The consortium has provided logistics services to handle over six billion doses of vaccines — whether in single or multi doses — in 2021. This will increase to over three times more doses by the end of next year.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com