UN: TS Tirumurti asserts sustainable recovery from COVID should begin with vaccine equity

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti highlighted India’s efforts in supporting other countries after the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID. He stated that after the cases of the new strain emerged in other countries, India immediately sent vaccines to the affected countries in Africa. Speaking at the joint PBC-ECOSOC meeting on "promoting durable peace and sustainable development in the context of recovery from COVID pandemic," he emphasised that in order to have sustainable recovery from the pandemic, they should start it with vaccines. 

Talking about India’s efforts following the emergence of the Omicron variant, TS Tirumurti stated that they have offered support to countries affected by Omicron in Africa. He mentioned that India has been helping the countries in Africa by providing them vaccines, life-saving drugs and medical equipment. He further said, “If we need to have any sustainable recovery from the pandemic, it should start with vaccines.” 

“Following the emergence of the Omicron variant, India had immediately offered support to the affected countries in Africa, including by supplying made-in-India vaccines, essential life-saving drugs, and medical equipment,” said India’s Permanent Representative to UN TS Tirumurti.

Need for vaccine equity

Tirumurti highlighted the need for vaccine equity as most of the developing world is yet to be vaccinated against COVID. He stated that efforts must be escalated to make COVID vaccines “available, accessible and affordable". He underlined the need to increase vaccine production capacity and added that they need to keep the supply chains of raw materials across the world, opened.  He also asserted the need of promoting human-centric and citizen-friendly digital technologies, with a special focus on women and youth. The statement of India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations comes at a time when some of the countries have been witnessing a rise in COVID cases driven by the new Omicron strain. 

Omicron variant of COVID

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned the world to be cautious as the new COVID variant has reached more than 77 countries. The WHO chief stated that the Omicron strain has been spreading at a rate that they have not witnessed in previous variants. 

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: Twitter/@ambtstirumurti