Give a Vax and Help End the Pandemic

The Government of Canada has committed to match,  dollar-for-dollar, donations made by individual Canadians to UNICEF Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination fundraising campaign to help vaccinate our global neighbours, up to a maximum of $10 million.

Love My Neighbour, a national movement for global vaccine  equity, in partnership with UNICEF Canada, is encouraged by the Government of  Canada’s decision.

“We’re thrilled the Canadian government has announced matching dollars to help end the  COVID-19 pandemic everywhere,” said Sara Hildebrand, Executive Director of Millennium Kids  and Project Coordinator of the Love My Neighbour project. “As life is returning to normal for  most Canadians, now is the time to turn our gratitude into action by gifting a 2-dose vaccine  forward through UNICEF for $25. Let’s not leave anyone behind.”

The Love My Neighbour project aims at gifting forward 38-million COVID-19 vaccines to  hardest-to-reach vulnerable neighbours living in 92 low- and middle-income countries – that’s  one for each grateful Canadian.

Inspired by Millennium Kids and Canadian faith communities,  the Love My Neighbour project hopes to increase the equitable distribution of vaccines  throughout the developing world to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.

To date, Love My Neighbour has raised over $325,000 to help vaccinate 13,100 global  neighbours lacking protection against COVID-19. All donations received via  lovemyneighbourproject.org from July 12 – September 6 will be eligible for the match.

“UNICEF is so pleased to partner with Love My Neighbour and shares the hope that through  this national movement we can help put an end to a pandemic that creates serious threats to  children and families around the globe,” said David Morley, President and CEO of UNICEF  Canada.

As the world surpasses three billion administered vaccine doses, only 1% of people in low income countries have received at least one dose.

The World Health Organization has called on  high-income countries to consider donating at least 10 percent of their doses without delay.

The Love My Neighbour project is pleased that the Canadian government announced it will be  sharing an additional 17.7 million doses and matching generous contributions from Canadians  toward ensuring additional COVID-19 vaccines reach low- and middle-income country  neighbours, until September 6, 2021.

“While we focus on increasing access to the vaccine for Canadians, we are reminded of the  many other places that are in need of vaccines across the world. Love My Neighbour is an  initiative that will help address this and one that I encourage Torontonians and Canadians to  embrace as we work together to put this pandemic behind us,” said John Tory, Mayor of  Toronto.

One $25 donation funds everything needed for UNICEF to purchase and deliver a two-dose  vaccine – from the manufacturer to the arms of people in some of the world’s hardest-to-reach  places.

This includes the per-person cost to transport the vaccines, protect the cold chain, train  health workers and safely dispose of waste. This $25 donation also helps to fund doses over  and above the two billion doses expected from COVAX—the global mechanism for equitable  access to COVID-19 vaccines— in 2021.