Greece’s winningest football (soccer for our American readers) club Olympiacos isn’t only winning on the field– they’re doing their part off, as well.
A multi-year partnership with UNICEF, the United Nations body that assists children in need globally, has resulted in over a million kids in Africa being immunized.
The partnership between Olympiacos and UNICEF began in 2013 and includes cash donations, but also awareness campaigns about the millions of children in need of basic healthcare in remote parts of the world, especially Africa.
Since then, Olympiacos have incorporated the UNICEF logo on their famed red and white jerseys, in addition to donating more than a million dollars for the immunization program.
The collaboration with the Greek club has led to more than a million kids getting immunized in Chad, as well as many in Greece whose families are suffering due to the country’s financial crisis.
UNICEF’s ‘100% immunization’ campaign targets countries and remote regions where vaccination coverage is amongst the lowest in the world, like Chad, South Sudan and Angola.
“Olympiacos has been a valuable UNICEF partner since 2013 and the biggest sports donor for the 100% Campaign,” a UNICEF spokesperson told Goal, an online portal for global soccer news.
“Thanks to the support of Olympiacos Football Club and other contributors, the UNICEF immunization campaign has resulted in over 1 million under one-year-olds in Chad being immunized against polio and other diseases – and in the purchase of 192 solar-powered vaccine refrigerators.
“In addition to the immunizations taking place in Chad, Olympiacos and UNICEF have also partnered in immunizing children in Greece and specifically in areas which are facing great struggles due to the economic crisis. Such immunizations will continue this season as well.”
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