New Delhi: Taking ‘Vaccine Diplomacy’ to yet another height between India and Afghanistan, a half-million doses of Covid-19 Vaccines gifted by India to the people of Afghanistan reached Kabul on Sunday, Feb 7. Waheed Majroh, Acting Minister of Public Health, Afghanistan received the vaccine consignment from Charge De Affairs in Indian embassy, Kabul, S Raghuram at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, official sources said.
India had earlier gifted more than 20 MT of COVID-19 medicines to Afghanistan. India had also extended humanitarian assistance of 75,000 MT of wheat through Chabahar Port to strengthen the food security of Afghanistan.
The vaccines sent for Afghanistan have been manufactured at the Serum Institute of India, Pune and arrived in Kabul by an Air India flight.
It is worth mentioning that India is the first responder to deliver Covid-19 vaccines to Afghanistan. Sources said India has so far supplied over 55 lakh doses of vaccines to neighbouring countries and in the extended neighbourhood.
India is the largest producer of vaccines in the region and about 60 percent of global vaccine production comes from India.
Apart from Covid-19 vaccines, India is the largest supplier of the DPT, BCG and Measles vaccines globally.
It is no small feat that the World Health Organization, WHO, sources 70 percent of its essential immunisation vaccines from India. According to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, India has supplied Covid-19 anti-Corona vaccine to as many as 15 countries and another 25 are in the queue at different levels.
There are three broad categories of countries seeking vaccines from India. Some countries have direct contracts with Indian vaccine producing companies. The second category – nations want the vaccine at par with the price the Indian government pays to manufacturers and some poor countries get assistance.
