The Lego Foundation donates almost half a billion – or 444 million kroner – to Unicef’s work in Covax. Covax is an international collaboration to secure vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.
According to a press release from Unicef, the donation is the largest single donation to the organization’s efforts against covid-19 from the private sector.
It is part of a total contribution from the Lego Foundation of DKK 950 million. The donation will support the children and families around the world who have been affected by the corona pandemic.
Karen Hækkerup, Secretary General of Unicef Denmark, is very pleased with the donation.
– The money will go to finance vaccination of up to 14 million people, where people get two doses, she says to Ritzau.
She points out that while the corona crisis seems to be over for now in Denmark, things are far worse in the world’s poor countries.
The contribution from the Lego Foundation will go to accelerate covid-19 vaccinations to protect health professionals and social workers worldwide. These include teachers, educators and caregivers.
The donation can help children to get back to school and a normal everyday life faster.
– This donation is based on the Lego Foundation’s core values of finding creative solutions to difficult problems in respect for children and the communities in which they live, says the director of the Lego Foundation, Anne-Birgitte Albrechtsen in the press release.
The Lego Foundation owns 25 percent of the Lego Group. It is controlled by the family behind the toy company.
Both Karen Hækkerup and Anne-Birgitte Albrechtsen also call on the private sector to support more of the global efforts against covid-19.
– Unfortunately, we are still underfunded in relation to how much money we need to get the vaccines out to the poor people in the world, says Karen Hækkerup.
– This donation covers ten percent of the underfunding that we have, so we get much closer.
– I really hope that this donation from the Lego Foundation can inspire other foundations and companies to want to take responsibility for making the world safe again.
“The world will only become a safe place again when we no longer have to be afraid of new mutations that could risk shutting the world down completely,” she says.
Source: The Nordic Page