Dubai launches initiative to deliver vaccines to emerging countries
In an effort to accelerate the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, Dubai announced on Sunday the launch of an initiative. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is focusing on emerging countries after the World Health Organisation (WHO) called for the poorest not to be left behind.
The UAE, a wealthy Gulf country made up of seven princely states including Dubai, has widely communicated its international humanitarian assistance deployed from Europe to South America since the start of the pandemic.
Officials confirmed in a press release that "Dubai today (Sunday) launched the Dubai Vaccines Logistics Alliance to accelerate the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide through the Emirate".
They added without specifying the number of vaccine doses to be shipped that "distribution will be particularly focused on emerging markets, where populations have been severely affected by the pandemic".
This partnership, according to the authorities, will rely on Dubai's "transport jewels" such as the Emirates airline, DP World's international network of ports or the airports of this city-state which in recent years has become a hub for trade and transport for globalised movement.
According to the government, the initiative is part of the WHO's fight and its Covax system that is intended to allow for a fair distribution of anti-COVID-19 vaccines.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, on Friday called for more solidarity among rich countries towards the less privileged and encouraged not to stockpile vaccines.
Anwar Gargash, the UAE's foreign minister, spoke out on social media against abuse by richer countries. "Vaccine nationalism should not be tolerated in our common fight to defeat COVID," he tweeted.
The Gulf country was among the first to launch a wide-ranging campaign in December to vaccinate its population of nearly 10 million. Having experienced a sharp rise in infections.
The UAE is second only to Israel in terms of the percentage of its population vaccinated, with more than three million doses administered, according to Statista, the German data collection site, estimates.