• India delivered two million doses of Covishield vaccine to Bangladesh and one million doses to Nepal under grants assistance on January 21, while commercial supply is expected to start soon with shipments to Brazil and Morocco.

• On January 20, India sent 1.5 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Bhutan and one lakh doses to the Maldives. 

• India had earlier announced that it will send COVID-19 vaccines under grant assistance to Bhutan, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles. Supplies to Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius will commence after confirmation of necessary regulatory clearances.

Vaccine diplomacy

• India had earlier supplied hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and paracetamol tablets, as well as diagnostic kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other medical supplies to a large number of countries to help them deal with the pandemic.

• The country 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, sharing our experience in dealing with the pandemic.

• In an ongoing effort, 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.

• India is one of the world’s biggest drugmakers and an increasing number of countries have already been approaching it for procuring the coronavirus vaccines. 

• India has already rolled out a massive coronavirus vaccination drive under which two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, are being administered to frontline health workers across the country. While Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield is being manufactured by the Serum Institute, and the Covaxin is being produced by Bharat Biotech. 

• The ministry of external affairs said it will ensure that domestic manufacturers will have adequate stocks to meet domestic requirements while supplying abroad.

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