WHO chief praises PM Modi for sharing vaccine with over 60 nations
As part of Vaccine Maitri, India has provided lakhs of doses of covid-19 vaccines to several countries as a gift. It has also provided vaccines on commercial grounds. Anish Singh reports
FollowLauding India's commitment in fighting the Covid-19 disease, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing vaccines to over 60 countries and expressed hope other countries would follow its example.
As part of Vaccine Maitri, India has provided lakhs of doses of covid-19 vaccines to several countries as a gift. It has also provided vaccines on commercial grounds.
"Thank India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting #VaccineEquity. Your commitment to #COVAX and sharing #COVID19 vaccine doses is helping 60+ countries start vaccinating their #healthworkers and other priority groups. I hope other countries will follow your example," the WHO chief said in a tweet.
A week back, the Caribbean Community States had expressed deep gratitude and appreciated India’s roles in delivering the vaccines.
Talking to Asianet Newsable, Ambassador Sanders had said, "India has been outstanding in showing support for developing countries in the Caribbean at a time when developed countries, representing only 15 per cent of the world's population have bought for themselves 60 per cent of available vaccines. India has demonstrated that it is a caring nation and is an example to the world in international cooperation at a time of global crisis."
"India has not sought to extract any conditions for its generosity to countries that have no vaccines," he had said.
During his address to the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly last year, the prime minister had assured the global community that India would supply vaccines to help all humanity in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
"As the largest vaccine producing country in the world, I want to give one more assurance to the global community today. India's vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis," PM Modi had said.
On February 24, Ghana became the first country outside India to receive the vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility in India. A total of six lakh doses were shipped to Accra in Ghana. It was the first batch shipped and delivered in Africa by the COVAX Facility as part of an unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.
COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, civil society organisations, manufacturers, and others.
"COVAX's mission is to help end the acute phase of the pandemic as quickly as possible by enabling global equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Today's delivery takes us another step closer to this goal and is something the whole world can be proud of. Over the coming weeks, COVAX must deliver vaccines to all participating economies to ensure that those most at risk are protected, wherever they live. We need governments and businesses now to recommit their support for COVAX and help us defeat this virus as quickly as possible," said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
"We will not end the pandemic anywhere unless we end it everywhere," the WHO chief said.
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