The funds will combat the deadly surge of cases in the country which will have dire consequences for children accessing essential healthcare and basic needs
In the second quarter of 2021, India began to witness a devastating wave of COVID-19 cases affecting people of all ages, including children and infants. The deadly surge in COVID-19 cases placed an enormous strain on health care facilities with dire consequences for children accessing essential health, social, protection and education services. UNICEF and partners worked around the clock to respond to this emergency and provide life-saving supplies.
In partnership with UNICEF, Careem and Hala launched a campaign to provide their customers and employees with an easy and accessible way to donate towards the emergency COVID-19 response in India. In addition, for two weeks during Ramadan, Careem joined forces with Hala to donate 1 AED for every order placed or ride booked on the Careem App to UNICEF. Through these initiatives, Careem and Hala raised more than US$210,000. These funds allow UNICEF to procure and provide life-saving oxygen generation plants in hospitals, rapid and accurate testing machines and other life-saving medical supplies.
“India is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions for Covid-19, and people in our communities across 13 markets want to support it. Careem stands together with UNICEF’s life-saving efforts by leveraging our technology to make donating as easy as a tap on the phone,” said Muddasir Sheikha, Careem CEO.
“Partnering with Careem for this highly successful and impactful campaign is a model example of UNICEF working with the private sector to reach vulnerable children across the globe,” said Eltayeb Adam, UNICEF Representative to the Gulf Area.