Indian gov\'t donates 30,000 vaccination doses for Measles and Rubella to Maldives

The government of India has donated 30,000 vaccination doses for Measles and Rubella to the people of Maldives.

During a special ceremony to hand over the vaccination doses on Thursday evening, the Minister of Health, Abdulla Ameen presented a Certificate of Acknowledgement to the government of India, which was accepted by Ambassador of India to the Maldives, Sunjay Sudhir.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Ameen expressed gratitude and appreciation for the swift response, going on to add that seeking and acquiring vaccinations is a significant and expensive task, as such, the government highly appreciates the Indian government’s generous donation as free aid.

The minister added that they are proceeding work to combat the measles outbreak with recommendations from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and World Health Organization (WHO).

Further, Ameen urged those who have not completed the required two dosages, to seek vaccination as soon as possible. Vaccination stalls have been set up at Dhamanaveshi and the social center, he added.

In addition, the vaccination campaign will also commence and extra vaccination doses are also being sought, said Ameen who added that India’s donation is proof that every time Maldives faces crisis, India is in the forefronts to provide swift aid.

Shedding light on the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister Abdulla Shahid, Ameen said that their work during the past year has contributed immensely for the strengthening of foreign bonds.

Further speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Sudhir stated that the vaccinations were donated within 72 hours since the request was made, this in turn signifies that India has the capacity to meet emergency humanitarian needs of Maldives, that India will always be the first to respond to emergency requests and that cooperation in health is one of the most important pillars of the bilateral cooperation between both countries.

Highlighting that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on health cooperation in June 2019 during the state visit of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sudhir added that in January, there was a high-level delegation from India in the health sector which has already drawn up a road map for cooperation and capacity building and training for doctors and medical health professionals.

While the infectious virus is catching the air, it is one of the most communicable diseases in the world owing to the fact that it can spread via air and out of 79 individuals tested thus far, four have turned positive to it in the country.

There is a number of outlying atolls residents who have not completed the required two doses, the minister stressed earlier.