Washington: The Biden administration has unveiled a new initiative aimed at collaborating with 50 countries to prevent future pandemics like Covid-19 and enhance response capabilities to disease outbreaks.
A senior official from the Biden administration revealed plans to partner with countries to improve testing, surveillance, communication, and immunization strategies to both prevent and address disease outbreaks effectively.
According to the official, the initiative has already commenced operations in Congo, where the US is assisting in managing the Mpox virus outbreak, formerly known as Monkeypox, including vaccination efforts.
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While specific countries involved in the program were not disclosed, the Biden administration aims to engage 100 nations by year-end. The White House plans to launch a dedicated website listing participant countries.
Implementation of the initiative will rely on various US government agencies, including the Department of State, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
This new 50-member initiative marks the third such program launched by the US. Over the past decade, the Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives (PIVI) has supported sustainable flu and Covid-19 vaccination programs in low- and middle-income countries, delivering over 5.1 million vaccine doses and technical assistance to 21 countries. The program aims to expand its reach to 30 countries by 2030.
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Additionally, the US is part of the Quad vaccine initiative, alongside India, Japan, and Australia, which has distributed hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 vaccine doses to countries in the Indo-Pacific region like Thailand and Cambodia.
However, the scope of US initiatives still falls short compared to India’s Vaccine Maitri initiative, which has provided Covid-19 vaccines and medical aid to 94 countries, along with contributions to two UN initiatives. India has supplied over 230 million Covid-19 vaccine doses through the initiative. Even before the pandemic, India produced a significant portion of the world’s vaccine doses, with Indian-made vaccines comprising 60-80% of doses procured by the UN for its programs.
