Vaccine Maitri: India to gift 2 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine to UN peacekeepers
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New Delhi, Feb 18: India announced that it will gift 2,00,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine to United Nations peacekeepers. This comes after External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar made the announcement at the United Nations Security Council open debate on Implementation of Resolution 2532. He said India has been "very much" at the forefront of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and is providing vaccines to the world under 'Vaccine Maitri' initiatives.
25 nations across the world have already received Made in India vaccines and 49 more countries will be supplied in the coming days, ranging from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands, he announced.
"Starting with our immediate neighbours, 25 nations across the world have already received Made in India vaccines. Forty-nine more countries will be supplied in the coming days, ranging from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands. Keeping in mind the UN Peacekeepers who operate in such difficult circumstances, we would like to announce today a gift of 200,000 doses for them. We are working actively with GAVI, WHO and ACT Accelerator. Our contribution has also supported the SAARC," he said.
Noting that there is a "glaring disparity" in the accessibility of coronavirus vaccines globally, the minister urged countries to stop "vaccine nationalism", saying "hoarding superfluous" doses will defeat the efforts towards attaining collective health security. He cited Bhagavad Gita to reflect India's approach to meeting the COVID-19 challenge. "The Bhagavad Gita states 'do your work with the welfare of others always in mind'. That is the spirit in which India approaches the COVID challenge and urges this Council to work collectively to address its different dimensions," he said.
The minister, who made his remarks through video conferencing, listed five concerns regarding the vaccine including lack of global coordination regarding the distribution of vaccines and the massive costs of inequitable vaccine distribution.