‘Grateful’ United Nations Thanks India For COVID Vaccine Gift

New York: The United Nations (UN) expressed its gratitude to India for gifting 200,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses for its peacekeepers.

“We are extremely grateful for this donation announced by the Indian delegation. The distribution will be operationalised by the UN’s Department of Support,” PTI quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying.

UN diplomats also welcomed India’s noble gesture.

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced the gift during his address to the UN Security Council meeting on COVID-19 on Wednesday.

“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,” he said.

A total of 94,484 personnel from 121 nations are currently deployed at 12 peacekeeping operations across the world. Thus the Indian vaccines will be enough to administer double doses to all UN peacekeepers.

Since the global COVID pandemic broke out last March, India has supplied medicines, diagnostic kits, ventilators and personal protective equipment to over 150 countries, about 80 of them on a grant basis.

Now, India – known as the pharmacy of the world — is playing its part in meeting the global vaccines challenge, Jaishankar said.