How the United Nations Foundation Supports Global Health: From Pandemic Response to Vaccine Equity
- Ludovica Vettore
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Author: Ludovica Vettore
In the last decades, the world witnessed a growing interconnection between populations that brought big opportunities but also complex challenges, especially in healthcare. Epidemics, health emergencies, and access to care inequalities highlighted the need for a globally coordinated response.
In this setting, the United Nations Foundation affirmed itself as a key character in global health promotion, supporting initiatives ranging from the response to health crises to equality in vaccine access.
Who is the UN Foundation?
It was founded in 1998 by Ted Turner thanks to a historical billion-dollar donation to the United Nations. The UN Foundation is an independent organisation that works in close collaboration with the UN to face the most urgent issues of our time.
Global Health is one of the mission’s fundamental pillars. The aim? Building a world in which each person, independently from the living place, can enjoy the fundamental healthcare right.
The Collaboration with the World Health Organisation
One of the central elements of the UN Foundation's mission is the ongoing support to WHO, UN’s agency responsible for international public health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this cooperation has been crucial. The foundation mobilised resources, coordinated public and private partners, and launched informative campaigns to support WHO in managing the health emergency.
One of the most significant projects in that field was the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, created by the UN Foundation in partnership with WHO and The Swiss Philanthropy Foundation. This fund collected hundreds of millions of dollars, contributing to financing the personal protection equipment (PPE) distribution, diagnostic tests, ventilators, and informative material destined to fight against misinformation.
The Support for COVAX and Vaccine Equity
When the world’s pharmaceutical companies started to produce the first vaccines against COVID-19, a critical issue emerged rapidly: the unequal access to the doses. While the high-income countries accumulated millions of vaccine vials, many low- and medium-income countries struggled even to get a small amount. To counteract this unfairness, the UN Foundation supported the COVAX project, an initiative guided by Gavi, WHO and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), born with the aim of guaranteeing an equal distribution of vaccines on a global scale.
The contribution of the UN Foundation to COVAX didn’t consist only of fundraising, but it also included advocacy and awareness activities. Through targeted campaigns, the organisation involved citizens, governments, and companies in order to build collective responsibility for obtaining an equal vaccine distribution.
An example of these activities was Shot@Life, which promotes access to life-saving vaccines for children in the developing world, helping to strengthen its local health system.
The Health Systems Reinforcement: a Sustainable Approach
Beside the emergency response, the UN Foundation also works to face the structural causes of health inequalities. The strengthening of health systems in the most fragile countries is a strategic aim that allows not only to better respond to future crises but also to guarantee essential care to millions of people.
Through initiatives like Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), the foundation works to better women’s and children’s health situations, promoting access to high-quality medical services, the training of healthcare professionals, and the collection of reliable data for process monitoring. The approach is inclusive and community-focused, with a strong involvement of local organisations that often are better aware of the real needs of the territory.
Another relevant example is the support given to the Nothing But Nets campaign, which fights against malaria in high-risk areas, distributing mosquito nets treated with insecticides, contributing this way to saving thousands of lives every year.
Advocacy, Communication and Strategic Partnerships
The strength of the UN Foundation also lies in its ability to connect different characters - international institutions, enterprises, foundations and civil societies - creating strategic alliances for a bigger impact. Its advocacy activities aim to influence public politics, get the governments to increase the investments in global health, and support international cooperation.
Thanks to its global influence, the UN Foundation could bring health to the centre of the United Nations agenda, strongly connecting it to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly to the third Goal: Good Health and Well-being.
The communication campaigns often implemented the support of influencers, international media and opinion leaders, contributing to building awareness of urgent health issues and to mobilising public opinion.
Looking at the Future: Global Health as Common Welfare
The recent emergencies taught us that health is not only a national matter; it’s a global public good. The diffusion of infectious diseases doesn’t know borders, and an effective response requires international solidarity. In this context, the UN Foundation keeps on working for a future in which everyone, everywhere, can access safe and effective treatments.
The Foundation work represents a virtuous example of how cooperation between public and private sectors can produce concrete achievements. From the fight against the pandemic to the promotion of childhood vaccination, from the emergency response to the establishment of resilient health systems, the UN Foundation contribution is fundamental for building a healthier, equal and prepared world.
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