All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been busy providing air lift for Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in Japan, together with forwarder partners, as part of the Japanese government’s cooperation with the Covax facility.

Recently it partnered with logistics service provider Scan Global Logistics to facilitate the delivery of live-saving jabs from Japan to Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos, East Timor, Fiji and Maldives.

It also partnered with Yusen Logistics earlier last week to transport vaccines from AstraZeneca, headquartered in Kita-Ku, Osaka, from Japan to Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

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Whilst the carrier did not state how many doses it carried on flights, it did say that the donated doses were procured through the Covax programme, co-led by vaccine alliance Gavi.

The initiative aims to secure equitable access to vaccines worldwide regardless of income levels, particularly developing nations. The doses transported by the airline are part of the 11 million AstraZeneca doses pledged by the Japanese government to be share with countries in Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia and the Pacific Islands.

“By utilizing the COVAX facility, ANA is able to contribute to making COVID-19 vaccines swiftly available at an affordable price, leveraging economies of scale through guaranteeing purchase and market demand for vaccine,” the airline shared in a statement.