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NEW YORK — Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) is receiving a United Nations Foundation 2016 Global Leadership Award for its “Get a Shot. Give a Shot.” vaccination campaign.
Ornella Barra
WBA said co-chief operating officer Ornella Barra will accept the award on behalf of the company tonight at the UN Foundation Global Leadership Awards Dinner in New York.
Also honored with a Global Leadership Award this year is President Barack Obama, who will receive the Champion for Global Change Award for his leadership at the UN and globally in promoting peace in war-torn areas and addressing climate change. The U.S. mission to the UN will be accepting the award on behalf of the president.
“I am deeply honored to accept the Global Leadership Award from the United Nations Foundation on behalf of all of my dedicated colleagues and the customers who make the program possible,” Barra said in a statement. “While much work remains, we are very proud of the progress we have made, in partnership with our customers and the UN Foundation, to ensure that millions of children are immunized against diseases that could cost them their lives. Walgreens Boots Alliance is committed to helping people around the world lead happier, healthier lives and this program is an important part of our mission.”
WBA’s “Get a Shot. Give a Shot.” campaign donates a polio or measles vaccine to a child in need for every immunization administered at a Walgreens or Duane Reade drug store or a Healthcare Clinic in-store clinic in the United States. The company launched the 2016 “Get a Shot” initiative in late September.
Since 2013, the program has helped to provide more than 15 million vaccinations to nations such as Tanzania, East Timor and Chad.
According to the UN Foundation, one in five children worldwide lacks access to life-saving vaccinations, and a child in a developing country dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine-preventable disease.
“The world has set ambitious goals to improve lives and livelihoods around the world, including by achieving health and well-being for everyone by the year 2030,” stated UN Foundation president and CEO Kathy Calvin. “Walgreens Boots Alliance has raised the bar through its strong commitment to the world’s most vulnerable citizens, who are often protected from a lifetime of deadly or debilitating diseases, including children who benefit from the ‘Get A Shot. Give A Shot.’ campaign.”
Other Global Leadership Award recipients for 2016 include Ertharin Cousin for her leadership as executive director at the World Food Programme, and the Rovio Entertainment and Sony Pictures’ “Angry Birds for a Happy Planet” global marketing and outreach campaign supporting climate action and eco-friendly lifestyles. Rovio chief executive officer Kati Levoranta is slated to accept the award on behalf of the initiative.
Also, Maina Kiai will receive the Leo Nevas Human Rights Award for his leadership as the first Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association in documenting human rights abuses.
