Deutsche Post World Net and UNICEF have launched a global partnership under the motto ”We deliverhelp” with the aim of reducing child mortality around the world. The global cooperation was
announced by Deutsche Post World Net and UNICEF at a joint press conference in Berlin.“By providing our logistics know-how, our Group can make a significant contribution toimproving children’s lives in disadvantaged regions around the world. A partnership with UNICEFoffers an ideal platform for us to contribute to this critical goal,” explained Dr. KlausZumwinkel, Chairman of the Board of Management at Deutsche Post World Net.
“Every day in communities around the world, 30,000 girls and boys under the age of five diemostly of diseases that could be prevented or treated,” said UNICEF patron, Eva Luise Köhler. “Through the UN Millennium Goals the international community has committed itself to reducing childmortality by two-thirds by the year 2015. I am very pleased that Deutsche Post World Net is helpingUNICEF to achieve this key objective.”
Together with UNICEF, Deutsche Post World Net will focus on improving medical care in regionswhere child mortality is high. To this end, the Group will provide its core competencies as anin-kind donation to UNICEF and also contribute additional financial support for example forprojects against malaria.
UNICEF’s existing logistics processes will be analyzed and, if necessary, improved – forexample, the storage and distribution of temperature-sensitive vaccines. The Group’s 500,000employees will also be called on to contribute to the long-term success of this partnership: Theywill have the opportunity to provide support through individual donations and fundraisingactivities or by serving as volunteers at selected UNICEF projects.
As a first step, the initiative will focus on projects in Kenya where child mortality hasincreased significantly over the past few years. Every eighth child there dies before its fifthbirthday. DHL will support UNICEF in one of the region’s largest health campaigns which istargeting measles, malaria and other infectious diseases. The express and logistics specialist willdraw on its expertise and infrastructure to help distribute approximately 3.5 million mosquito netsto children around the country who are at risk of contracting malaria. A number of additionallong-term measures are also planned: In the Kwale region in southern Kenya, where child mortalityis particularly high, the Group and its employees will help improve primary health care and providefamilies with basic healthcare information.
The cooperation with UNICEF is another module of Deutsche Post World Net’s long-term,strategic partnership with the United Nations, which was launched in December 2005 in the area ofdisaster management.
