More than 30 countries worldwide have received essential aid from Qatar since the pandemic broke out in late 2019.
Qatar has financed 50,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine at a total cost of $450,000 to the Philippines to help the country tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, Qatar Fund for Development [QFFD] has announced.
Qatar Fund for Development, on behalf of the State of Qatar, provided financial support to the Philippine Government, to purchase 50,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine for the cost of $450,000, as a continuation of Qatar's response to provide a wider access to Covid-19 vaccine. pic.twitter.com/OjVYASm00l
— Qatar Embassy Manila (@QatarEmb_Manila) January 25, 2022
The latest initiative comes in line with the Gulf nation’s dedicated effort to ensure the Coronavirus vaccine is accessible to countries in need globally, especially given the spread of the Omicron variant in recent months.
The latest wave in the Philippines has led to thousands of daily infections and a spike in hospitalised cases.
On Tuesday alone, health authorities reported 15,789 new COVID-19 infections, raising the country’s nationwide tally to 3,475,293. In mid-January, the country was reporting more than 30,000 cases daily.
The significant rise in cases has pushed the country’s authorities to request assistance to ensure enough vaccinations are provided for its eligible population. Thus far, only 52% of the country is fully vaccinated— which leaves more than 40 million waiting for their shots.
For this reason, Qatar has stepped in to help the neighbouring country with its vaccination drive to help them to return to stability.
Doha has also recently sent out 3.4 tonnes of medical aid to help Manila’s healthcare system, which included 50 oxygen cylinders and various medicines for those infected.
The latest vaccine initiative was not the first of its kind for Qatar. In fact, last year, the Gulf state committed $10 million in partnership with Gavi to support COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), a financial mechanism launched to procure 1.3 billion vaccine doses to countries in need, by the end of 2021.
The fund also included a grand $67 million in funds disbursed to different countries by Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD), to help tackle Covid-19 challenges around the world over the past year.
The aid was used to help over 23 countries in their battle against the deadly virus.
Read also: Qatar signs million dollar agreement to improve access to vaccines
In August, the country provided hundreds of vaccine doses to Afghan refugees who fled the country following the Taliban’s rise to power.
Lebanon also received 31,250 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine along with an aid package from the QFFD.
Also on the list of recipients were Nepal and Pakistan, who received hundreds of kilograms in much-needed medical donations in recent years.
Since the pandemic started in late 2019, more than 30 countries worldwide have received essential aid from Qatar.
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