India's Vaccine Diplomacy

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the lives of everyone. It has impacted more than 100 million people worldwide and has led to a substantial number of deaths. The development of vaccines has been a ray of hope for countries, especially those struggling to curb infection rates. Some countries like the United States, Israel, United Kingdom, UAE, Russia, China, and India have been fortunate to have developed and acquired vaccines. Some countries, on the other hand, from Libya to Madagascar in Africa, Central Asia, Cuba, and Herzegovina have been unable to develop and even acquire purchasing rights to existing vaccines. India has had a unique journey throughout the pandemic. Despite being one of the first countries to institute a nationwide lockdown and mandate the usage of face masks, there has been a significant surge in the number of cases signaling a health emergency.

What is India’s Vaccine Diplomacy?

International cooperation to tackle infectious and tropical disease control goes back to the 14th century when the early concept of quarantine was introduced in Dubrovnik in Croatia. In 1851, Europe held its first International Sanitary Conference for multilateral cooperation to prevent the spread of cholera and, subsequently, plague and yellow fever. Since then, there have been numerous instances of cooperation to provide medical health in vaccines and other medical aid facilities. The concept of vaccine diplomacy emerged in the early 2000s based on these developments and refers to the branch of global health diplomacy that relies on the use or delivery of vaccines. India has been one of the first nations to engage in ‘vaccine diplomacy’ to assist countries in need. The ‘Typbar-TCV’ vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech to combat the global surge of Typhoid fever, especially in South Asia, South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa is an example. In January 2021, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that, “The Government of India has received several requests for the supply of Indian manufactured vaccines from neighbouring and key partner countries.” In response to these requests, assistance through grants has been provided to South Africa, UAE, Barbados, Mongolia, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Fiji, South Asian nations and other countries across the globe. The commitment by India, which is the largest producer of vaccines globally, to use its vaccine production and delivery capacity to help humanity fight the coronavirus pandemic is also reflected in this assistance.

Has India been involved in Vaccine Diplomacy before?

India is known as the pharmacy of the world as it has a solid generic pharmaceutical industry that has been supplying excellent quality medicines to global markets. Its reputation in the pharmaceutical industry has been built over time based on critical interventions that the Indian companies had made. One instance was the HIV/AIDS pandemic when India aided African countries by supplying affordable medicines while other pharmaceutical producers demanded higher prices. After the Global Fund to fight major diseases like AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was established, India’s generic industry has emerged as one of the largest suppliers. It has the largest number of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved plants outside the US and firms in India have a reputation for top knot standards. Vaccine developers worldwide have been tying up with Indian plants since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. India’s pharmaceutical sector caters to around 50% of the global vaccine demand, 25% of all medicines in the UK and exports to 170 countries. India is also home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer The Serum Institute of India, which produces 1.5 billion vaccines every year. India has been ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines. Being a global health care provider in the past, it has been taking initiatives to overcome the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic in the present.

Impact of India’s Vaccine Diplomacy? A diplomatic masterstroke:

India’s vaccine diplomacy proved to be a diplomatic masterstroke that helped the country gain goodwill and increased its soft power. It bolstered support and strength from various powerful nations across the world in any future scenario. It aimed to strengthen the nations’ relations with many countries, especially its neighbours, and major powers of the world. Bhutan’s Prime Minister, Lotay Tshering said, “It is of unimaginable value when precious commodities are shared even before meeting your own needs, as opposed to giving out only after you have enough.” Canadian PM Justin Trudeau also thanked India for its export of vaccines. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, and Brazilian Prime Minister Jair Bolsonaro among others extended their gratitude to India for its support.

A step towards strengthening India’s Neighbourhood Policy:

The first consignments of the Covishield vaccine —developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India — and Covaxin, a locally developed and manufactured vaccine by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research, went to its immediate neighbours, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Nepal, and to crucial Indian Ocean partners, Mauritius and Seychelles. India focused on its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and gave its South Asian partners priority. However, it is notable that providing vaccines during the pandemic would not be enough to resolve the strained relations that India has had with its neighbours in the past 70 years. It was a small step towards ameliorating its relations with its neighbours.

Flawed anticipation of the crisis:

The problem that led to the second surge of the pandemic in India was the wrong anticipation of the crisis and sending out a message internationally, before gauging the situation. On 29th January 2021 at the Davos Forum, India stated that it had defeated the coronavirus. Moreover, International visits were planned during this period by the Prime Ministers of Rwanda, the Netherlands, UK and Japan, all of which had to be cancelled. The situation should not have been underestimated and dealt with more cautiously to avoid the current surge in cases.

What had India’s Vaccine Diplomacy Meant to The World?

Even during a deadly pandemic, India maintained her ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and aimed to heal the region with the highest population density. Demand for India’s vaccines however, go beyond the subcontinent. The question that arose was, why was the world interested in Indian vaccines? a) they are cost-effective and b) they are safe. While Moderna costs around $30 and Sputnik V approximately $10, Covishield from India costs around $6. The developed countries of the west were turning to isolationism while India stepped into a leadership role and displayed compassion globally through its vaccine diplomacy. Peter Pilot, Director of London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine stated, “Without India, there won’t be enough vaccines to save the world.” While the world restricted the export of essential medicines, India supplied hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and Paracetamol tablets. New Delhi also exported Diagnostic Kits, ventilators, masks and other medical supplies. India provided training to its neighbourhood to manage the health crisis at hand and attempts to aid the world continually.

Conclusion:

The internal dynamics of a country and its diplomacy are organically correlated. The external diplomatic initiatives will be flawed if the internal dynamics are misinterpreted. This was the exact problem with the “Vaccine Maitri initiative’. Undoubtedly, it was a noble gesture, but what it missed was that in pursuit of international goodwill, India had inoculated less than 10% of its population. The images of India as the ‘pharmacy of the world’ gifting vaccines and its citizens running from pillar to post to get vaccinated were a massive contrast to each other. Self-sufficiency in vaccines and other essentials needed to deal with the pandemic was a vital factor that needed to be considered a priority. It is imperative to note that Vaccine Maitri as a slogan could not substitute for vaccine diplomacy as a policy.

However, one cannot deny that India’s initiatives to make vaccines widely available to developing countries, together with growing evidence of the benefits of making COVID-19 vaccines accessible, suggest that medical products must be treated as global public goods during a pandemic. This is because India believes in one thing, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: the world is one family.