Statement from UNICEF USA President and CEO Michael J. Nyenhuis on the United States rejoining the World Health Organization and plan to join the COVAX Facility

NEW YORK (January 21, 2021) – "As we usher in a new U.S. administration, UNICEF USA welcomes the news that the U.S. is rejoining the World Health Organization and set to join the COVAX Facility, important steps toward reestablishing America's leadership in global health. UNICEF is helping countries to receive vaccines, while also leading the procurement and supply work for COVAX, a global effort to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, leveraging its decades of immunization expertise to ensure that vulnerable communities are protected. We know that we can't be fully protected until we are all protected. American inclusion in COVAX will help ensure that UNICEF and partners can equitably deliver vaccines to low-income countries and help protect children from the ravaging impacts COVID-19 has had on their health, education, and well-being."

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About UNICEF
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to pursue a more equitable world for every child. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, safe water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.

UNICEF USA advances the global mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children. Together, we are working toward a world that upholds the rights of all children and helps every child thrive. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.

For more information, contact
Erica Vogel, UNICEF USA, evogel@unicefusa.org
Lauren Davitt, UNICEF USA, ldavitt@unicefusa.org