235 million people are at risk of being left out of the enormous and complex global Covid-19 vaccination effort. NetHope, our Members and partners want to make sure that doesn’t happen.

The world is facing a giant challenge: ensuring equitable access to the Covid-19 vaccine for the planet’s most vulnerable people. NetHope is convening our Members and partners to collaborate and discuss how – together – we can help in the COVAX effort to vaccinate two billion people by the end of 2021.

NetHope’s Members work in 190 countries and deliver more than 60% of all global aid and relief. Our partners number over 50 of the world’s largest and most innovative technology brands. And NetHope has 20 years’ experience bringing together leading humanitarian agencies and IT companies to respond to disasters, improve co-ordination, and utilise technology to serve communities across the globe. For all these reasons, NetHope and our community are well-placed to help in the global Coronavirus vaccine effort.

Last month saw us host our first COVAX call with NetHope Members, their key medical representatives, and our partners. Our second call with Members and technology partners will take place later this month. As we convene our Members and partners together, we have an exciting proposal to use the collective action, networks, experiences and expertise of the NetHope community to ensure the delivery of Covid vaccines does not fail at the last mile.

NetHope has led collaborative efforts like this before. In 2014, we co-launched our 'Information is Aid' program in response to the Ebola crisis and the needs our Members were seeing on the ground. ‘Information is Aid’ digitally surfaced, captured, and made available information regarding the needs of vulnerable, remote, or marginalized communities. This proven core collaborative program methodology was also deployed for the Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria relief effort, helping the voices of underserved communities be heard.

Collaborative efforts NetHope has led in the past year to serve our Members and their humanitarian programs across the globe include: publishing the Frontline Humanitarian Logistics Data Standard, delivering the USAID Global Broadband Initiative and advancing Covid-19 information programs in Mexico, Brazil, Rwanda and Kenya, and providing connectivity in response to Hurricane Iota in Nicaragua.

For more information about the upcoming NetHope Covid vaccine call and to find out how you can get involved, contact Jean-Louis Ecochard.

 

Filed Under: COVAX, COVID-19 Response