The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set up the COVAX facility for rapid access to the vaccine

India will play a role in the fair and equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines across the world, a top World Health Organisation (WHO) has said in an interview to News18.

COVAX, a WHO facility, aims to ensure delivery of two billion doses by the end of 2021,WHO director for South East Asia Poonam Khetrapal Singh said in the interview.

COVAX is a team of a global collaboration of governments, global health organizations, civil society groups, and philanthropies.

According to Singh, all countries were being invited to participate in the facility which will connect the “pool of demand to a pool of supply” and allow manufacturers “access to a demand secure market”.

Talking of India’s role in vaccine development in the News18 interview, Singh called India one of the “largest manufacturers and the pharmacy of the world” and added that it would play a role in making the vaccine available globally.

India had taken proactive steps from the very beginning but scaling up health facilities was a challenge and also a constant need, she said in the News18 interview. Singh also highlighted the importance of testing, isolation, and good medical infrastructure in breaking the chain of virus transmissions.

According to the WHO official, “a national risk assessment should continue to be supported and implemented through sub national or even community level risk assessment”. This was imperative as the transmission of Covid-19 is not homogeneous, she said in the interview.