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Transparency Maldives calls for equitable vaccine access

14 February 2021, MVT 13:57
Frontline workers on the vaccination kick off event held in Maldives on February 1. PHOTO: MIHAARU
14 February 2021, MVT 13:57

Local NGO Transparency Maldives, on Wednesday, called for the equitable implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Transparency Maldives particularly highlighted the importance of ensuring that marginalised groups such as expatriate workers, regardless of documentation status, are not sidelined during the government's inoculation efforts.

Furthermore, the NGO emphasized the necessity of maintaining transparency concerning the formulation of vaccination plans and the distribution of vaccines.

According to Transparency Maldives, pre-existing inequalities in the country, particularly those related to access to healthcare, housing and employment, were exposed and exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 outbreak in the capital city of Male' has disproportionately affected the migrant worker population, the majority of whom are Bangladeshi nationals living in highly congested quarters where it is impossible to reduce contact or exercise social distancing. Their often small-spaced living conditions have been described by local and international civil society organizations as, "claustrophobic", "unsanitary" and "overcrowded".

Till date, expatriates have accounted for approximately 35 percent of Maldives' recorded COVID-19 cases, 21 percent of which are Bangladeshi nationals.

Maldives Immigration previously revealed that 63,000 immigrants out of the country's expatriate population of 144,607, are undocumented. Following the government's repatriation efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the aforementioned number is likely to be lower.

Maldives officially commenced its vaccine roll-out on February 1 after receiving a donation of 100,000 doses of the COVISHIELD vaccine from the Indian government. The donation constitutes enough doses to inoculate 50,000 individuals.

The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) approved the India-gifted COVISHIELD vaccines for restricted use in "emergency situations", defined by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, subjected to various regulatory provisions.

COVISHIELD was manufactured by the world's largest vaccine producer Serum Institute of India, using a formula prepared in a collaborative effort by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. British Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approved the vaccine on December 30, 2020.

After a long period of recording low numbers towards the end of 2020, Maldives is now experiencing its third wave of the coronavirus, with the introduction of the highly contagious virus variant initially identified in the United Kingdom.

In response to the spike in numbers, HPA tightened several safety measures including the introduction of a new curfew in the capital region, which prohibits civilians from roads and public spaces between 2300 to 0430 hrs, while vehicle movements are banned between 1800 to 0600 hrs.

Currently, the island nation records a total of 17,716 virus cases of which 2,360 are active cases, in addition to 15,291 recoveries and 58 deaths.

On March 12, 2020, WHO classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. To date, the new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 109 million people and claimed over 2.4 million lives around the world. However, out of those infected, more than 81.2 million people have recovered.

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