From January 20, India will begin shipping COVID-19 vaccines to six nations—Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles under the grant-in-aid scheme. Three more countries in the neighbourhood—Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius—will be covered under the programme, however, the government is still awaiting confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances from them.
The government also began a two-day workshop for the recipient countries today, training them administrative and operational aspects. The training of for immunisation managers, cold chain officers, communication officers and data managers of the recipient countries, both at national and provincial levels.
According to sources, the recipient countries have been gifted with the Oxford-AstraZeneca ‘Covishield’ vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India. Bhutan will receive 1.5 lakh doses, is the first country to receive the vaccine gift. Maldives will receive one lakh doses, enough to cover one in every five people in the archipalegic state. The government of Maldives will purchase its remaining requirements from the SII at commercial rates.
India had received requests from several countries for vaccine cooperation. As the established vaccinator of the world—over half the world’s vaccines are made in India—countries from all parts of the globe are seeking supplies to get a grip over the pandemic. Ever since India rolled out its vaccination programme on January 16, there has been interest in how the government will live up to its assurance of vaccine cooperation. Recently, Nepal foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali was in India and ensuring vaccine supply was a big part of his agenda.
“Immunisation programme is being implemented in India, as in other countries, in a phased manner to cover the healthcare providers, frontline workers and the most vulnerable. Keeping in view the domestic requirements of the phased rollout, India will continue to supply COVID-19 vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. It will be ensured that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic requirements while supplying abroad,” said a statement from the Ministry of external affairs.
The release added that India will continue to supply countries all over the world with vaccines. “This will be calibrated against domestic requirements and international demand and obligations, including under GAVI’s Covax facility to developing countries.”
Over the last year, India has provided essential drugs including hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol, remdesivir as well as antibiotics and vitamins to partner countries. India has also supplied ventilators, masks and diagnostic kits to partners.
India has also provided training to several neighbouring countries to enhance and strengthen their clinical capabilities, under the Partnerships for Accelerating Clinical Trials (PACT) programme. Separately, several training courses have been organised for healthcare workers and administrators of partner countries under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
