‘The vaccine friendship programme is imperative to cultivate relationships and to safeguard the well-being of our citizens, says Ashish Sood
Howsoever argumentative you are, it is next to impossible to console and convince a person who is running from pillar to post by risking his/her own life to manage a few more breaths for his loved ones. This is more frightening when you are deluged with such requests on your mobile and there is no sign of immediate help.
In this scenario, glimpses of civil and defence aircraft of friendly countries unloading portable oxygen concentrators, ventilators and oximeters in Indian airports were looking like angels. Though oxygen demand peaked at 8,944 at the beginning of May, it came under control in the first week itself. Till then over 40 countries including the USA, UK, Russia, France, UAE et al had sent 2,060 oxygen concentrators, 30,000 vials of Remdesivir, 467 ventilators. Besides, India also got three oxygen generation plants from US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, and Israel. How was this made possible?
Some people were busy criticising the Central Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by asking, 'Why did Modi send COVID vaccine to foreign countries?' This question is being raised when patients and their relatives are expressing gratitude to friendly nations and appreciating the image and prestige of India at the global level. This would have been ignored, if it had remained at the street level because society, as we know, always has some perverts. These narratives must be deconstructed before they cause damage to the nation’s image in the international community.
International relations depend on mutual cooperation
No court can order a country to help another country in crisis. International relations completely depend on mutual help, understanding, and goodwill. This cannot be done overnight.
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Modi government had supplied hydroxychloroquine to over 55 countries as grants as well as on a commercial basis including the USA, England, European and African nations. Thereafter, COVID-related medical equipment such as PPE kits, testing kits and medicines were also sent to several countries. Continuing this goodwill gesture, India has so far sent about 66 million (6.6 crores) vaccines to 95 countries out of which 1.1 crores were in the form of grants or gifts and 3.6 crores were commercial exports.
In the list, several beneficiary countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific region do not have the capability to produce medical equipment and vaccines. The governments of poor countries such as Paraguay and the Dominican Republic of Congo were helpless before the pandemic. Vaccine consignments from India to these nations were no less than a much-needed miracle for them. The ‘Vaccine Friendship’ program of India earned praises from notable voices across the world including, but not limited to, the UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres.
The foreign aircraft which were seen unloading Oxygen concentrators, ventilators and plants were a result of this hard-earned international image. Those advocating against the ‘Vaccine Friendship’ program and engaging in mudslinging should imagine a situation where no country was willing to help Indians during the Oxygen crisis or any other crisis in the future. Frightening.
Helping neighbours and reciprocating helps
Many may argue India did not have to provide free vaccines to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. Being a highly contagious infection, Covid-19 requires a cross-border approach to protect the bordering districts of states such as Bihar, Assam, North East States, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir. If the neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have a high load of COVID-19 infections, they will continue to infect people in the border areas.
Furthermore, providing vaccines to Gulf countries also becomes necessary as lakhs of Indians work there. In the first wave of COVID in 2020, they had considered the request of the Indian government to provide treatment to Indian citizens. They also helped Indian authorities in rescuing Indians during the COVID pandemic through ‘Vande Bharat Mission’.
Covax pool: Global liability?
The technology of Covishield vaccine was developed and patented by Oxford University and AstraZeneca which shared it with Serum Institute and India (SII) and 15 other countries on the specific understanding that they would manufacture vaccines for their countries and contribute to the Covax Pool meant for poor countries in Africa and South America. In pursuance of this agreement, SII has provided about 1.9 crore doses in the COVAX pool, put together by WHO and the international community, to provide vaccines for poor countries such as in underdeveloped regions of Africa.
Furthermore, the raw material for the production of the Covishield comes from the USA. After Joe Biden took over as the US President, he invoked the US Defence Production Act (DPA) to ensure the US vaccine makers get the raw material on priority. This slowed down vaccine production in India. Therefore, it had become quite difficult for SII to maintain production. The goodwill earned by India as a saviour of the poor countries played a pivotal role, invoking the moral responsibility of the Biden administration to ensure the supply of raw material to the SII. Imagine, if India had denied providing vaccines to Covax Pool and other countries, what would have prevented the US to block or curtail the supply of raw material to SII? This would have further slowed down vaccine production at SII.
The buck stops here
COVID pandemic is a global crisis, therefore, the world will have to fight unitedly. Within a few months, it spread from Wuhan in China to the whole world. Hence, the mudslinging on the ‘Vaccine Friendship’ program is no less than the intellectual bankruptcy of degree holders. They preach barricading airports, ports, and borders but fail to understand providing vaccines to foreign countries is imperative so that the infection is controlled therein. This will further help in reining in the number of cases in our beautiful country.
(The writer is a senior BJP leader and co-in-charge for the party’s J & K affairs. The views are strictly his personal.)