Project profile — Providing Access to COVID-19 Vaccines for Populations in Situations of Vulnerability in the America

• West Indies, regional (20.00%)
• North and Central America, regional (40.00%)
• South America, regional (40.00%)

• Health policy and administrative management:
Health policy and administrative management (12110) (20.00%)
Medical education/training (12181) (20.00%)
• Basic health care:
Basic health care (12220) (20.00%)
Infectious disease control (12250) (40.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project aims to improve health and increase protection from COVID-19 for populations in situations of vulnerability in Latin America and the Caribbean. The primary focus of the COVID-19 vaccine-related interventions focuses on those at high-risk for COVID-19, including Venezuelan migrants. Project activities include: (1) Supporting increased surge capacity for vaccinators and public health workers; (2) Supporting the assessment of the cold chain capacity and addressing any identified gaps and other related key supplies for effective distribution; (3) Supporting countries on international shipping and national distribution of vaccine supplies; and (4) Supporting the identification of populations in vulnerable situations, such as migrants, to ensure equitable access to vaccines and inclusion in vaccination programs in a culturally appropriate, gender-sensitive, and human rights-based manner.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) enhanced, effective and equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccine for women and men within at-risk groups; and (2) increased equitable and timely access and coverage of COVID-19 vaccines for women and men.

Results achieved at the end of the project (December 2023) include: (1) supported 35 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America region to develop, update and operationalise their national plan for the deployment and use of COVID-19 vaccines following with the Pan-American Health Organization or World Health Organization (WHO); (2) provided and delivered 974,040 COVID-19 vaccines in the Caribbean and Latin American regions; (3) provided and delivered vaccination-related equipment, including 3,028,400 syringes, over 2,600 refrigerators, freezers, vaccine carriers or cold boxes, 9 cold rooms, over 46,000 temperature monitoring devices, almost 87,000 ice packs, and 332,300 safety boxes; (4) published a report titled, “Analysis of COVID-19 vaccination in the Americas Region: Breakdown by sex and age and in selected subpopulations”. This allowed 10 countries to present disaggregated data on COVID-19 vaccination; and (5) strengthened quality assurance process and COVID-19 vaccine deployment plans according to the WHO Emergency Use for 37 countries. This allowed to surpass the original target by 7 countries.

• Proactive disclosure