The World Health Organisation has thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for continued support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a tweet, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, we can stop this virus and save lives and livelihoods only if we act together, including sharing of knowledge.
India has been sending vaccines to countries in the South Asian region and others like Brazil and Morocco. South Africa will also get the vaccine soon.
The WHO chief’s tweet comes hours after a similar tweet by Brazilian President Jair M Bolsonaro, who thanked India for the vaccines. Bolsonaro said, Brazil feels honoured to have a great partner like India to overcome the global pandemic.
“Namaskar, Prime Minister @narendramodi. Brazil is honoured to have a great partner to overcome a global obstacle. Thank you for helping us with vaccine exports from India to Brazil. Dhanyavaad! ??????,” Bolsonaro tweeted on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to the Brazilian President saying that it was an honour to be a trusted partner during the pandemic adding that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation on healthcare.
The United States on Friday praised India for its role in furthering global health amid the coronavirus pandemic. The US described India as the “true friend” for using its pharmaceutical sector to help people across the world. “We applaud India’s role in global health, sharing millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccine in South Asia,” the state department tweeted.
India dispatched two million doses of Covishield vaccines to Brazil on Friday. Covishield has been developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives have got over 3.2 million doses in total from India. India also donated vaccines to Mauritius, Myanmar and Seychelles. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are next on the list. (With inputs from agencies)
