India announces 2 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines for UN peacekeepers

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday announced that India will give 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for UN Peacekeeper while speaking at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on coronavirus crisis and vaccines. 

He said, "Under the initiative of Vaccine Maitri, which translates into Vaccine Friendship, India provides vaccines to the world...Keeping in mind the UN Peacekeepers who operate in such difficult circumstances, we would like to announce today a gift of 200,000 doses for them as well."

India has so far sent COVID-19 vaccines to 25 nations and in coming days will be supplying vaccines to 49 more countries. Around 60 per cent of the global COVID-19 vaccines are produced in India and in 2020 amid the pandemic, it sent medicines to 150 countries.

During his address, EAM put forward nine points for the world to put "COVID-19 pandemic decisively behind us and to emerge more resilient". Key was putting a stop to "vaccine nationalism" as "hoarding superfluous doses will defeat our efforts towards attaining collective health security", stopping "disinformation campaigns" taking "advantage of this pandemic to advance their nefarious objectives and activities" and "urgently resume immunization programs across the world before children’s lives are threatened by other diseases".

This is the second time EAM has spoken at UNSC. In January, EAM spoke on the issue of terror. India is a non-permanent member of the core UN Body for a period of two years starting January 1, 2021.