The government on Thursday announced plans to sign an agreement with AstraZeneca Singapore Pte Ltd to procure the coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, for Maldives.
In a resolution signed by Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, the finance ministry highlighted the pressing global demands for COVID-19 vaccines, which are available only from limited sources.
Noting that special procurement policies were being established across the world to procure the vaccine, the ministry declared that relevant Maldivian authorities have deemed it necessary to sign the agreement with AstraZeneca Singapore in order to protect public health.
Hence, under the powers vested in the Finance Minister, Subjects 10.43, 10.52, 10.67 and 10.71 of the Public Finance Regulation have been temporarily suspended in order to swiftly procure the vaccine through the Singaporean branch of the company. The Subjects in question concern the tendering process of procurement projects, awarding of contracts, advance payments, and liquidated damages, respectively.
However, the finance ministry noted that the four Subjects are suspended only for the duration of the procurement agreement with AstraZeneca Singapore.
Furthermore, the ministry will conduct an internal audit into the procurement process, inviting the financial controller of the Ministry of Health to closely monitor the numbers.
The government did not yet disclose the cost of procuring the vaccine.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine for COVID-19 was developed jointly by AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company based in England, and the University of Oxford. On Wednesday, Britain became the first nation to approve the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
Earlier this week, the Maldivian government assured that COVID-19 vaccines will be arranged for all locals and work permit holders in the country. While the Health Emergency Operations Centre (HEOC) announced that vaccines will be secured for 20 percent of the Maldivian population, free of charge, through the COVAX programme launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the centre noted that authorities will also secure vaccine shipments by other means as well.
HEOC aims to commence the COVID-19 vaccination programme within the first three months of 2021.
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