Covid’s silver lining for India
No one in India is commemorating the fifth anniversary of the stringent lockdown prompted by Covid-19, which the government imposed on March 24, 2020. We, the survivors, all think of Covid as a bad dream, one marked by suffering, tragedy and loss. And, yet, the pandemic also prompted, paradoxically, one of our nation’s more significant accomplishments.
India’s vaccine diplomacy during the Covid pandemic stands out from amid the horrors of that time as a powerful example of international leadership rooted in responsibility and solidarity. By delivering made-in-India vaccines to over 100 nations, India demonstrated its capacity to extend a helping hand when it mattered most.
Leveraging its position as the world’s vaccine manufacturing hub, India launched the Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) initiative in January 2021. This programme aimed to supply Covid-19 vaccines to countries in need, particularly to developing nations. India’s exports of vaccines—both as aid and commercial shipments—reached nations across West Asia, Africa, Latin America, and our immediate neighbourhood.
India produced two major vaccines: Covishield (developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India) and Covaxin (developed by Bharat Biotech). It supplied these vaccines to over a 100 countries, including Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and African nations. The government was careful to couch its initiative as rooted in the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family), emphasising global solidarity. That it also aligned with India’s neighbourhood first policy, strengthening ties with other countries in the subcontinent, was an added bonus.
By so doing, India emerged as a key player in global health diplomacy, showcasing its capacity to address global challenges. It contributed to the global COVAX initiative, centred in the World Health Organisation (WHO), a global effort to ensure equitable vaccine distribution that was shamefully under-resourced and inadequately supported by the richer developed countries. In doing so, India has reaffirmed its position as a global leader, shaping solutions within multilateral platforms. The richer nations, instead, spent their resources stocking up on vast quantities of vaccines for their own citizens, much of which had to be thrown away unused when they could have saved lives if distributed to poorer nations.
So India did what more affluent countries did not. The vaccine shipments enhanced our country’s global image; India’s efforts were widely appreciated, enhancing its reputation as a responsible global leader. The initiative fostered goodwill and strengthened bilateral diplomatic ties with recipient countries, serving a valuable strategic purpose. India’s vaccine diplomacy served as a counterbalance to China’s influence in South Asia and Africa, where both nations were vying for goodwill through vaccine supplies.
It is true that the second wave of Covid-19 temporarily disrupted India’s vaccine exports, highlighting the challenges of balancing domestic needs with international commitments. Despite this, India’s vaccine diplomacy remains a significant chapter in its foreign policy, reflecting its ability to combine humanitarianism with strategic interests. It considerably augmented India’s soft power, projecting across the developing world that India could prioritise humanitarian aid, reinforcing its image as a benevolent and reliable partner on the global stage.
This initiative during the dark days of the Covid pandemic reinforced India’s standing as a force for good in the world, reflecting its humanitarian spirit and adding to the allure of its soft power. Our efforts were not limited merely to the provision of vaccines but extended to the sending of Indian military doctors to Nepal, the Maldives, and Kuwait, and to organising online training for health care workers across South Asian nations. Additionally, through its engagement with global platforms like GAVI, the Quad, and the Pan Africa E-Network, India addressed immediate health concerns while laying the groundwork for long-term international cooperation.
This dynamic engagement solidified India’s standing as a fulcrum of global health diplomacy, elevating its stature as a trusted partner in times of crisis. India’s vaccine diplomacy embodied and contributed to the very spirit of its soft power. It carried the values of compassion, cooperation, and global partnership to the world, building goodwill, strengthening diplomatic ties, and elevating India’s global stature. It’s an example of a deliberate effort that portrayed an India bridging the aspirations of developing nations with the responsibilities of developed ones. Five years on, that silver lining to the Covid cloud is still worth recalling—and applauding.
editor@theweek.in
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