WHO Chief lauds India for supporting “Vaccine Equality”

February 26, 2021

The Director-General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, lauded India and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for sharing the Covid-19 vaccines and supporting the “Vaccine Equality” across the world.

Highlights

  • The Chief of WHO also hoped that other countries will follow the same path to distribute the vaccines equally.
  • WHO chief made a statement that, India’s commitment to COVAX and sharing the covid-19 vaccines have helped more than 60 countries as they have started vaccinating their health workers and other priority groups.
  • He further stated that if everyone acts together and share the knowledge, this pandemic could be stopped to save lives and livelihoods of the people.

Background

  • In January 2021, the chief of WHO had also expressed his gratitude to India for its continued support to the world in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • Further, in the initial days of February 2021, the WHO Chief had requested the drug makers and wealthy nations to help in boosting up the manufacture and distribution of Coronavirus vaccines across the world.
  • He had also expressed his concerns that if the wealthy nations continue to vaccinate its people and leave behind the vulnerable countries that the pandemic might starts spreading again.

COVAX initiative

  • It is a “COVID-19 vaccine Global Access” initiative that was launched by the WHO’s Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).
  • This initiative was launched with the aim of promoting equal access to vaccines by every country and to stop the “Vaccine Nationalism”.
  • Under this initiative, India had announced to supply ten Lakh doses to United Nations Health workers and one crore of vaccine doses to Africa In January 2021.
  • In the line, African State, Ghana, became the first country in the world to receive the vaccine doses under the UN-backed-COVAX initiative. India had delivered 6,00,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine which was made by the Serum Institute of India.
  • India has also supplied the vaccines to several countries including Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
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