# Merck to Provide UNICEF with 3 Million Doses of COVID-19 Pill

By Human Events · Published 2022-01-18 · News & Analysis › World · https://humanevents.com/news/merck-to-provide-unicef-with-3-million-doses-of-covid-19-pill

> Merck is set to provide the United Nations Children’s Fund with up to 3 million doses of its COVID-19 antiviral pill. The pharmaceutical company announced it will provide molnupiravir to UNICEF over the first half of 2022 for distribution to 100 low- and middle-income countries, pending local regulatory authorizations. “I am proud of the fact \[…\]

Merck is set to provide the United Nations Children’s Fund with up to 3 million doses of its COVID-19 antiviral pill.

The pharmaceutical company announced it will provide molnupiravir to UNICEF over the first half of 2022 for distribution to 100 low- and middle-income countries, pending local regulatory authorizations.

“I am proud of the fact that patients in these low- and middle-income countries will gain access at the same time as patients in countries with higher incomes,” Merck CEO and President Robert Davis said in a statement, per *[The Hill](https://thehill.com/news-by-subject/healthcare/590146-merck-supplying-unicef-with-3m-courses-of-covid-19-pill)**.*

CEO of Merck partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics Wendy Holman said the drug “can play a significant role in the global efforts to address the pandemic,” adding the agreement with UNICEF will “help address global health challenges and inequities.”

As previously reported by *Human Events News,* the FDA in December authorized the use of molnupiravir, the second such emergency use authorization in the last two days.

[The pill](https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/fda-authorizes-merck-covid-19-antiviral-pill-molnupiravir) helped to prevent high-risk people from becoming seriously sick and dying, cutting the risk of hospitalization or death by about 50 percent.

A course of the treatment is 40 pills, eight a day for five days, started within five days of showing symptoms.