WHO lauds India's efforts to end the pandemic

World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday thanked India and prime minister Narendra Modi for supporting vaccine equity and lauded India's actions to end the COVID-19 pandemic as the largest vaccine producer of the world.

"Thanks, India & Prime Minister @narendramodi, for supporting #VaccinEquity. Your commitment to #COVAX and sharing #COVID1 vaccine doses is helping 60+ countries start vaccinating their #healthworkers and other priority groups. I hope other countries will follow your example," Tedros said in a tweet.

India has one of the largest vaccine manufacturing capacities globally, including the largest vaccine producer Serum Institute of India. The domestic vaccination in India is also one of the largest in the world.

The country on Wednesday had sent its first batch of 6 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Ghana under the COVAX facility, which is aiming to cover 92 countries under the initiative.

India has also sent consignments of anti-coronavirus vaccine doses as gifts to countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, Afghanistan, Barbados and Dominica.

Last week, the WHO chief had urged countries and vaccine manufacturers to help speed up the manufacture and distribution of vaccines globally so that the poorer countries are not left behind in their inoculation program, and vaccine equity is ensured in all the countries.