COVID-19 Pandemic Emerges- ‘An Opportunity in Calamity for India’

The way India took humanitarian measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has emerged a global leader.

When Kenyan Foreign Minister Raychelle Omamo called up External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, the conversation was largely focused on the Covid-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, Omamo showed his concerned over the drug supplies, with the virus now rearing its head in Africa and remote parts of the world.

Jaishankar, however, told his Kenyan counterpart that not only would India provide hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol on a commercial basis but would also send some more as a gift, or assistance. In another conversation with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Jaishankar underscored that India is already in the process of airlifting drugs to his country.

Jaishankar’s diplomatic outreach to other countries has been guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clear observation early this month that asked his team to positively respond to requests for help by other countries to fight Covid-19, people familiar with the development said.

PM Modi had made the point that if you help someone when they need it to face a crisis, the gesture won’t be forgotten easily.

These activities have driven much response from across the world. Officials said India is flying out about 28 lakh hydroxychloroquine and 13 lakh paracetamol tablets to 32 countries as assistance. In addition, drug supplies are being made to 42 countries on a commercial basis.

The Indian priorities have been clear with first supplies going to the SAARC countries and extended neighborhood in Gulf. Europe, Americas, and the Indo-Pacific were covered in the next phase.

After supplies reached these countries, India moved to supplying assistance to smaller countries and Island nations. These include Burkina Faso, Marshall Islands, Eswatini, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Seychelles and Jamaica.

Global demand for hydroxychloroquine boosted after some studies indicated that the drug, when paired with azithromycin, helped clear patients of the virus at a much faster rate than seen usually.