High Commission of India

Nairobi

Press Release

1. On behalf of the Government of India, High Commissioner Dr. Virander Paul handed over a consignment of 100, 000 doses of Made in India Covishield (AstraZeneca) vaccines to Hon. MutahiKagwe, EGH, the Health Cabinet Secretary of Government of the Republic of Kenya, today (11th March 2021) at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
2. These vaccines are a gift from Government of India to Government of Kenya as a gesture of friendship and solidarity.
3. Also present were Dr. Rashid Abdi Aman, Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Health, Kenya and Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya, Ambassador IsaiyaKabira
4. India has viewed the COVID-19 pandemic as a global health crisis with far reaching implications and has used its advanced pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing capacities to provide PPEs, medicines, and respirators to other nations as assistance in their fight against COVID-19.
5. India has, so far, provided vaccine doses to 69 countries across the world as part of its Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) initiative, both as gifts and on commercial basis. As a member of the GAVI-COVAX alliance, India has also pledged to supply an additional 10 million doses to Africa and 1 million doses to UN health workers. A consignment of 1.02 million doses of made in India vaccines reached Kenya early this month from Serum Institute of India, the largest manufacturer of covid-19 vaccine in the world.
6. We look forward to a further strengthening of India-Kenya bilateral cooperation, especially in the healthcare sector.

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[Nairobi, 11 March, 2021]