General Comments by India on consideration of the resolution ‘‘Ensuring equitable, affordable, timely, and universal access by all countries to vaccines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic” at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council (22 February – 23rd March 2021) delivered by Ms. Seema Pujani, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of India (Geneva, 23 March 2021) General Comments by India on consideration of the resolution ‘‘Ensuring equitable, affordable, t..

General Comments by India on consideration of the resolution ‘‘Ensuring equitable, affordable, timely, and universal access by all countries to vaccines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic” at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council (22 February – 23rd March 2021) delivered by Ms. Seema Pujani, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of India (Geneva, 23 March 2021)

Madam President,

We welcome the resolution under consideration, which is timely and   focusses on the urgent need to ensure equitable, affordable, timely and universal access by all countries to the Covid-19 vaccines. Therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines for the whole world is the only way out of this pandemic. International cooperation and solidarity to contain mitigate and overcome the impacts of the pandemic is extremely important.

Madam President,

2. In this context, my delegation would like to make the Council aware that India and South Africa have also moved a proposal at the WTO for a COVID 19 specific waiver of some of the provisions of TRIPS Agreement, as we believe that all tools for combating the Covid-19 pandemic such as vaccines are a global public good.

3. In the same spirit, in-spite of its own enormous domestic requirements India provided essential medicines and equipment to more than 150 countries to 82 of them as grants, to assist them in this fight. Driven by our outlook of human centric global cooperation, India has under the initiative of Vaccine Maitri, which translates to Vaccine Friendship, pledged to use its vaccine manufacturing capacity to make vaccines accessible and affordable to all and has so far provided vaccines to 71 countries around the world. India, Japan, Australia and USA would be collaborating together to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity in India to produce at least 1 billion doses of COVID 19 vaccines by end of 2022.

Thank you Madam President.