AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, continues its support to UNICEF by donating PhP 3.8 million for COVID-19 affected children.
The pandemic has caused a worldwide economic crisis, school closures, decrease in income, and other challenges that greatly affect families. This could plunge more than 86 million children below the poverty line, stop their schooling, and force them to work to augment the family income.
“Children are among the most vulnerable in this time of crisis. They may be less likely to get infected by the virus, but millions of them are not spared from the social disruptions of this pandemic. At AXA, we believe in protecting what matters and it’s important to ensure that these children don’t become the victims of the pandemic,” said AXA Philippines CEO and president Rahul Hora.
With the help of AXA, UNICEF and its partners delivered supplies such as water and hygiene kits, personal protective equipment, tents and handwashing stations. UNICEF also provided training on infection prevention and control, social mobilization and community engagement, caring for children with disabilities and psychological first aid.
Aside from the COVID-19 response, AXA has been supporting UNICEF to address the problem of overweight and obesity among Filipino children since 2019. UNICEF, which protects and promotes the rights of children worldwide, has made preventing overweight and obesity and promoting healthy food environments for children a centerpiece of its action plan since 2016, so that every child can grow to their full potential.
With the support of AXA, the actions taken by UNICEF has focused on generating local evidence to enhance policies and programmes on overweight and obesity and to influence policy makers; conducting trainings of frontline workers and caregivers, creating awareness and demand for healthier diets and food environments.