UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledges countries helping others within the fight against the worldwide pandemic Covid-19, as per his spokesman Stephane Dujarric, after India sent supplies of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to numerous nations, including the US.
The US Food and Drug Administration has recognized hydroxychloroquine as the feasible medicament for the COVID-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.
The demand for the drug has hiked up in the last few days after India proclaimed to remove a ban on its export.
Answering to a question by a reporter at his daily briefing on Thursday about India sending succour to several countries facing the COVID-19 crisis, Dujarric said: “The secretary-general calls for global solidarity in this struggle against the virus. That means that each country who is during a position to assist another country should. We salute those countries that are doing so.”
He was reverting to a question on Mr. Guterres’ reaction to India’s efforts to send medicine and other supplies to other countries in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic.
India is in the course of supplying hydroxychloroquine as grants and on commercial basis to 55 coronavirus-hit countries.
A number of countries along with the US, Mauritius and Seychelles have already obtained the drug few days back while many others will get it by the end of week.
India is also sending the drug to neighbouring countries viz. Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh Nepal, the Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, as stated by sources.
India is additionally supplying anti-malerial hydroxychloroquine drug to Zambia, Dominican Republic , Madagascar, Uganda, Burkina Faso , Niger, Mali, Congo, Egypt, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Equador, Jamaica, Syria, Ukraine, Chad, Zimbabwe, France, Jordan, Kenya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman and Peru.
Few days back in a recent telephonic conversation, U.S. President Donald Trump requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the sale of hydroxychloroquine tablets ordered by the US in order to cure the rapidly increasing coronavirus cases in his country.
Trump had admired Modi for his strong leadership and said that India’s help during this crisis will never be forgotten.
Israel, Barzil and Russia among others had also acknowledged the India government before for supplying the hydroxychloroquine.
Likewise, Special Envoy from Dominican Republic to UN Ambassador Jose Singer and President of Security Council for April expressed gratitude to India for the donation of 200,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to his country.
Dear Ambassador! My country the Dominican Republic is so grateful for this help in challenging times!!!” Mr Singer said in response to a tweet by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin on India’s donating the medicines to the Caribbean nation.
