Clinical diagnostics company Novacyt will donate one million COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to UNICEF to help contain the spread of the virus.
All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of children and their families. During this time, UNICEF has provided support to the most vulnerable children, working to safeguard their access to education, nutrition and essential health services. At the same time, UNICEF acts as a key partner and lead procurer for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), a global collaboration to speed up the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
By supporting ACT-A, UNICEF aims to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially save the lives of frontline workers and high-risk populations, make health systems more resilient and ultimately, help ensure that children in low- and middle-income countries survive and thrive.
As the world accelerates vaccination efforts against COVID-19, testing remains an important part of global efforts to contain the virus. Novacyt’s donation will help UNICEF work with governments to fill gaps in COVID-19 testing capacities. This, in turn, will help to ensure children and their families continue to have access to essential services and care.
Novacyt will send the test kits to countries where there is both the need and infrastructure to perform PCR testing. The first four countries whose Ministries of Health have expressed interest and capacity to receive the test kits are Nigeria, Palestine, Maldives, and South Sudan.
Graham Mullis, chief executive officer of Novacyt, said: “We are proud to support UNICEF and the incredible initiatives it has in place to protect children around the world during the pandemic. There remains a need to contain the spread of COVID-19, not just in high-income countries but on a global scale. Novacyt is committed to playing our part in fighting the pandemic by delivering reliable testing for the virus where it is most needed. We are delighted to be working with UNICEF to support low- and middle-income countries in their response to COVID-19, which will in turn enable access to vital services for children affected by one of the largest ever humanitarian crises. Finally, I am proud of the Novacyt team, as without their dedication and focus the company would not be in the position it is today, allowing us to support global organisations like UNICEF.”
Clarence Jaccard-Briat, general director at UNICEF France, added: “We are grateful for the contribution Novacyt is providing to UNICEF’s role in COVID-19 testing. Our efforts to fight the pandemic won’t stop until every child and every family is safe and in good health. Through ACT-A and the COVAX Facility, UNICEF, along with partners, is on a historic mission to vaccinate the world. We invite other partners to join us and support us in this race to end COVID-19. Because no one is safe until everyone is safe.”
