Kabul, April 23: India has donated 4.8 tonnes of vaccines to Afghanistan as part of its continued humanitarian support to the South Asian nation. The cache of the vaccines included those to combat rabies, tetanus, hepatitis B, and influenza.
On Wednesday, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health expressed gratitude towards India for its generous contribution. “Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health has received a vital shipment of vaccines from India to help combat rabies, tetanus, hepatitis B, and influenza,’ the ministry statement read.
“The leadership of the Ministry of Public Health thanked India for the generous support, calling it a critical move that could save thousands of lives across the country,” it added. The Ministry further stated that the donation of vaccines will help Afghanistan, where access to essential medical supplies remains limited due to prolonged instability and economic challenges.
In January, during Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s meeting with the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, in Dubai, India pledged continued humanitarian assistance to the Islamic nation, including material support in the first instance to the health sector and for the rehabilitation of refugees.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Foreign Secretary underlined India’s historic friendship with the Afghan people and the strong people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
In this context, he conveyed India’s readiness to respond to the urgent developmental needs of the Afghan people. As the two sides evaluated the ongoing Indian humanitarian assistance programmes, the Afghan Minister appreciated and thanked the Indian leadership for continuing to engage and support the people of Afghanistan during the meeting.
“In view of the current need for development activities, it was decided that India would consider engaging in development projects in the near future, in addition to the ongoing humanitarian assistance programme,” read the statement issued by the MEA earlier this year.
According to the MEA, as of January, India dispatched several shipments consisting of 50,000 MTs of wheat, 300 tonnes of medicines, 27 tonnes of earthquake relief aid, 40,000 litres of pesticides, 100 million polio doses, 1.5 million doses of Covid vaccine, 11,000 units of hygiene kits for the drug de-addiction programme, 500 units of winter clothing and 1.2 tonnes of stationery kits, over the past few years acting fast to the needs of the Afghan people.
IANS