IKEA Foundation Supports UN Campaign for Equitable, Global COVID-19 Vaccine Access
Today, the IKEA Foundation announced its support for the United Nations' new "Only Together" campaign, which calls for fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world.
"Scientists believe vaccination offers the best hope for the world to emerge from this pandemic, but only if everyone, everywhere has vaccine access. Unequitable distribution of vaccines risks further widening the inequality gap and endangering millions of lives," said Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation CEO.
"Only Together" asks governments, businesses and philanthropies to support a global vaccine rollout that prioritises healthcare workers and ensures the poorest countries don't get left behind.
The pandemic is wreaking havoc on the world's most vulnerable communities. Over 130 million people sank below the poverty line in 2020, many of them from marginalised communities, according to UN data. Inequitable vaccine distribution could reverse decades of progress on poverty, healthcare and education.
"This isn't just an issue of morality -- it's an issue of global health," said Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. "Viruses don't respect borders. Leaving parts of the world unvaccinated could lead to even deadlier variants of COVID-19 emerging, prolonging the pandemic and delaying the global economy from recovering."
"Only Together" is part of the Verified initiative, launched in 2020 to counter disinformation on COVID-19. Verified is a collaboration between the UN and Purpose, a social mobilisation organisation. Supported by an IKEA Foundation grant, the campaign helps volunteer "digital first responders" and collaborators disseminate accurate COVID-19 information.
Through its partnership with Purpose, the IKEA Foundation aims to cement public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and rally funding for fair global vaccine distribution.
"Over the past year, we've all missed out on things we love. Millions of people have lost their loved ones and livelihoods to this deadly virus. Over the coming months, we have an opportunity to put the world on a path towards ending the pandemic, but only together can we ensure no one is left behind," said Jeremy Heimans, Purpose CEO.
About the IKEA Foundation
The IKEA Foundation is funded by INGKA Foundation, owner of the Ingka Group of companies. The IKEA Foundation is independent from the retail business with a sole focus on creating brighter lives on a liveable planet through philanthropy and grantmaking. www.ikeafoundation.org
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210311005179/en/
Contact information
Radu Dumitrascu, radu.dumitrascu@ikeafoundation.org, +31 655 69 85 70
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Outpost24 Acquires Infinipoint to Power Its Entry into the Zero Trust Workforce Access Market9.12.2025 09:00:00 EET | Press release
Outpost24, a leader in exposure management and identity security, today announced the acquisition of Infinipoint, a specialist in device identity, posture validation, and secure workforce access. The acquisition marks Outpost24’s entry into the Zero Trust Workforce Access market and enhances its identity security division, Specops, by laying the foundation for a unified approach that evaluates both the user and the device before access is granted. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208750630/en/ Ido Erlichman, Chief Executive Officer of Outpost24. As organizations advance their Zero Trust strategies, authentication alone is no longer enough. MFA and SSO confirm who the user is, but they do not validate the security of the device being used. In hybrid environments where employees, contractors, and partners rely on a mix of corporate and unmanaged devices, this gap has become a significant source of risk. Ensuri
VSO Submits VCP v1.0 to Nineteen Regulatory Authorities Across Thirteen Jurisdictions and Completes First Integrated Evaluation in a Production-Like Environment9.12.2025 09:00:00 EET | Press release
The VeritasChain Standards Organization (VSO) announced today that it has submitted the VeritasChain Protocol (VCP) v1.0 to nineteen regulatory authorities across thirteen jurisdictions, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates (DIFC), Australia, India, South Korea, Switzerland, Brazil, Liechtenstein, and Saudi Arabia. The submissions present VCP v1.0 as a cryptographic audit framework designed to address emerging supervisory requirements under the EU AI Act Article 12 for logging and traceability, and MiFID II / RTS 25 for timestamp integrity and event ordering in AI-driven and algorithmic trading systems. VSO also confirmed the first completed integration of VCP v1.0 within a controlled, production-like evaluation environment operating under its Early Access Program. The environment successfully generated cryptographically linked event chains, immutable hashing, and verifiable proofs using RFC-aligned structures, demonstr
ENGIE and NHOA Energy Expand Their Partnership in Belgium to Build a New 320 MWh Battery Energy Storage System9.12.2025 09:00:00 EET | Press release
NHOA Energy, global provider of utility-scale energy storage systems, has been awarded by ENGIE the contracts for the Supply, Commissioning and the Long-Term Service of a new 80 MW / 320 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to be installed at the site of ENGIE’s Drogenbos power station, near Brussels. The Drogenbos BESS represents ENGIE’s third large-scale battery asset in Belgium and was selected in the country’s fifth Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM) auction, securing a 15-year contract starting in November 2027. Designed to deliver essential flexibility services to the Belgian grid, enabling greater integration of renewable energy and supporting grid stability at national level, the BESS will be based on NHOA Energy’s NHEXUS platform, including 88 battery containers capable of providing up to 4 hours of discharge, corresponding to the average daily electricity demand of over 38,000 households. The project marks a significant new milestone in expanding the collaboration betw
2025 Sees Double-digit Increase in Tourists' Spending via Alipay+ in South Korea as Travellers Seek More Local Experiences9.12.2025 08:55:00 EET | Press release
Alipay+, Ant International’s global wallet gateway services, revealed an 18% increase in Alipay+-supported QR code payment transactions, with total payment volume (TPV) growing 16% year-on-year in South Korea, as more tourists use Alipay+ partner wallets and bank apps to make digital payments for a range of services, from beauty clinic treatments and transportation to night market food stalls. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251208351936/en/ Weixiao Jiang, General Manager North Asia and North America, Alipay+, Ant International South Korea is among the top destinations for tourists from regions such as Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland, with the greatest number of tourists making transactions supported by Alipay+ in cities like Seoul, Jeju Island and Busan. In 2025, Alipay+ transactions for beauty clinic treatments, transportation and F&B were among the fastest-growing categories for tourists. Apart from
Interactive Brokers Expands Market Access with United Arab Emirates Equities9.12.2025 08:00:00 EET | Press release
Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), an automated global electronic broker, today announced the introduction of United Arab Emirates (UAE) equities through two leading exchanges in one of the world’s fastest-growing economic regions. Clients of Interactive Brokers worldwide can now access the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). This enables investors in the region to trade both local and international markets from a single platform while investors worldwide can build diversified portfolios across asset classes and geographies, including countries in the growing Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Interactive Brokers serves a global client base and is uniquely equipped to advance the financial goals of individual and institutional investors worldwide, including those in the Middle East. Adding UAE stocks further expands Interactive Brokers’ market access and enhances the investment opportunities available to local and global investors. Interactive Broker
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom