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India will supply one crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Africa, and ten lakh doses to UN health workers under the GAVI’s (the global partnership for increasing access to immunisation) COVAX facility soon and also send supplies on a commercial basis to Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Canada and Mongolia, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.
The country has already gifted over 55 lakh doses of vaccines to its neighbouring countries and extended neighbourhoods so far and has plans to donate 10 lakh more doses over the next few days, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a media briefing on Thursday.
Commercial exports have also taken place to Brazil, Morocco and Bangladesh, he added.
“Our external supplies, whether as gifts or on a commercial basis, are based on domestic availability, licensing issues and regulatory approvals in the countries concerned,” Srivastava said.
India will continue to supply vaccines to partner countries over the coming weeks and months in a phased manner. Decisions on these supplies will, of course, be calibrated against the requirements of the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine at home, he added.
India’s vaccination drive against Covid-19 started on January 16. The total number of healthcare workers vaccinated in the country crossed 28 lakh on Thursday, as per government figures.
“In line with the PM’s announcement that India sees international cooperation in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as its duty, we have played the role of the first responder in our neighbourhood as well as undertaken supplies to countries beyond,” the spokesperson said.
The countries gifted vaccine doses by India include Bhutan (1.5 lakh), Maldives (1 lakh), Nepal (10 lakh), Bangladesh (20 lakh), Myanmar (15 lakh), Mauritius (1 lakh), Seychelles (50,000), Sri Lanka (5 lakhs) and Bahrain (1 lakh). Over the next few days, India plans to gift further quantities to Oman (1 lakh), CARICOM countries (5 lakh), Nicaragua (2 lakh) and Pacific Island states (2 lakh).
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