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Six days to the “Big Climb” of Mount Kilimanjaro

12.10.2021

On 19 October 2021, a diverse group of change-makers will join forces to climb Africa’s highest peak. Athletes, political leaders, United Nations officials, medical doctors, scientists and youth advocates will raise awareness of the urgent need for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

Funds raised during the climb will go to the African Union COVID-19 Response Fund and the Go Give One campaign managed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Foundation. Contributions will provide COVID-19 vaccines, prioritizing those who need them the most in countries that cannot afford the vaccine.

“Bringing attention to the challenge of vaccine injustice is key to driving equitable solutions,” said Tim Challen, who founded the Kilimanjaro Initiative (KI) that organized The Big Climb. “As Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, has said, ‘We must work together as a global family to combat COVID-19.’ The Big Climb, represents our contribution to this collective effort.”

A total of 34 climbers, representing different cultures, backgrounds and continents, will make the ascent. These include ten sponsored youth from community projects and schools in Tanzania and Kenya, and the world’s fastest women mountain runners – including Mountain Partnership Goodwill Ambassador Mira Rai, an award-winning trail and sky runner from Nepal. The climbers plan to reach the summit symbolically on United Nations Day, 24 October.

The Big Climb partners include the United Nations Federal Credit Union Foundation, Sport and Sustainability International, the African Union, the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Ethiopian Airlines, the Women’s Brain Project, and the Phoenix Design Aid Foundation.

The Kilimanjaro Initiative is also a member of the Mountain Partnership, the only United Nations alliance dedicated to improving the lives of mountain peoples and protecting mountain environments around the world.

A community’s impact

The Big Climb contributes to nine of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to Ingrid Beutler of the Switzerland-based Beutler International Sports Advisory who will participate. “From good health and well-being and gender equality, to reducing inequalities and partnerships for the Goals, we want to accelerate action,” she said.

Climate change researcher Stephen Flood, who is taking part in the climb, said he joined The Big Climb after seeing “the profound impact of COVID-19 on mental health in communities around the world.” Flood, an environmental social scientist, works at the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units at Maynooth University on the issue of societal resilience through the lenses of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and the SDGs. “I’m proud to participate in The Big Climb to raise awareness on the issue of global vaccine access,” he said.

Sebastian Copeland, award-winning photographer, author, polar explorer and environmental advocate, is joining the climb to raise awareness of climate change in the region and vaccine inequality. “After extensively documenting the rapidly-disappearing ice at both poles of the Arctic and Antarctica, I am anxious to see the once-famous snows of Kilimanjaro before they disappear forever,” he said. “The glacier that once lined its volcanic crater has shrunken to just a shadow of its former glory.”

For the past 15 years, KI has organized an annual climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness on social issues affecting youth in disenfranchised communities. “We have a shared responsibility to take on social justice issues for future generations,” said Challen. “Our youth climbers remind us that we must take collective action in order to provide better opportunities for those who follow in our footsteps.”

To get involved, organize your own parallel activity through ‘The Big Climb’ application, found on Android and Apple stores.

Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash