Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has made an appeal to the international community to make available vaccines against the coronavirus for Nepal.
While interacting with journalists of international media houses based in Nepal at his official residence in Baluwatar, PM Oli mentioned that the government has been doing its best to get all Nepali citizens vaccinated against the coronavirus and made an appeal to the international community for vaccines. He mentioned that the government is also willing to purchase the vaccines instead of just relying on grants and appealed to countries where the vaccines are manufactured to help in the process.
Since nearly 20 million citizens need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 the prime minister urged the international community to make available enough doses of vaccines for the purpose. He mentioned that the country had received help from the United Nations, World Bank and various embassies in Nepal and thanked the international community for the support in Nepal’s fight against the coronavirus.
PM Oli informed that Nepal was the second country after India in South Asia to start the vaccination drive with help from neighbouring countries. However, the vaccination drive, he said could not gather pace as expected because the manufacturing companies and countries from where the vaccines could be availed could not provide enough doses of the vaccines.
He also said that some individuals and organisations had politicised the government’s efforts to fight against the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.