Statement by India under Agenda Item 3 : Interactive Dialogue on the report of the High Commissioner on ensuring equitable, affordable, timely and universal access for all countries to vaccines in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at the 52nd Session of Human Rights Council (27 February – 4 April 2023) delivered by Mr. S. Senthil Kumar, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva, 16 March 2023
Mr. President,
We welcome the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and take due note of its recommendations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on human life globally. It has had a lasting socio-economic impact especially in countries of the Global South, borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable segments of the society. We agree that vaccine equity is fundamental to recovery from the pandemic.
India always believed that the pandemic poses a threat to the entire humanity and that the rightful response would be a collective one. We have provided medical assistance, including training and capacity building, to nearly 150 countries. Over 291 million doses of vaccines have been supplied to 99 countries and 2 UN entities in the form of grant, through commercial export or the COVAX facility since January 2021. We have made our COVID vaccination platform open source and offered it as a digital public good to the world. We are also grateful for the support received from partner countries during the second wave of the pandemic.
We are of the strong view that a coordinated global response is required to combat future health emergencies. We must build resilient global supply chains and enable equitable access to vaccines and medicines. WTO rules, particularly TRIPS, need to be more flexible. WHO must be reformed and strengthened to build a more resilient global health security architecture. We strongly support the principle of equity to be incorporated as a key principle in the legally binding instrument on future pandemics being negotiated in WHO.
I thank you.
