In News: India’s vaccine diplomacy is known as the “Vaccine Maitri” initiative.
About Vaccine Maitri-
- Vaccine Diplomacy is the use of vaccines to increase a country’s diplomatic relationship with other countries.
- Under its Neighborhood First strategy, India pledged to supply Made-in-India Covid-19 vaccines to its neighboring and main partner countries.
- The vaccines were sent first to Bhutan and the Maldives, followed by Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, and the Seychelles.
- Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Mauritius and in total, around 72 countries received doses once regulatory approvals were received.
- Medicines have been supplied to 150 nations, 82 of them as grants.
- Pakistan has not been identified as a country that will receive the vaccine.
- India has also provided neighboring countries with capacity-building and training workshops.
- From supplying hydroxychloroquine to more than 100 nations to providing 64 million doses of vaccines to more than 80 nations, India’s imprint on global health has been substantive.
- However, India is unlikely to resume the initiative for the neighborhood due to the sudden crunch in the availability of vaccines amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Source: The Hindu
