Why India is donating Covid-19 vaccines to Kenya

When Indian PM Narendra Modi visited Kenya in 2016, several deals in healthcare were inked.

Star reporter John Muchangi spoke to Indian High Commissioner Dr Virander  Paul last week after India donated coronavirus vaccines to Kenya.

India has donated 100,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Kenya. Tell us more about this.  

India had made this offer about a couple of weeks ago. We had requested the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health to get us some information required by the Indian side before they could deliver the consignment. It included confirmation of internal regulatory approvals in Kenya being in place. We got all the details, and the consignment has since been received. Health minister Mr [Mutahi] Kagwe and I were at the airport to receive the vaccines.

Why did India choose Kenya for this donation?

This is a very inspiring story of the global south; developing countries assisting each other in times of crisis.

In times of global crisis, no country alone can deal with a challenge like this pandemic. India is the largest manufacturer of vaccines globally. We have huge capacities, which we have scaled up even further to help other countries, mostly developing. So in the global South, this kind of cooperation, using our own capacities and abilities to help fellow developing countries, is important. To me, this is the larger story. It is an inspiring and a practical demonstration of south-south cooperation.

This is the AstraZeneca vaccine. In India you also have another homegrown vaccine.

In addition to Covishield, which is Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine made in India by Serum International Institute (SII), we have an indigenously developed vaccine by Bharat Biotech International Limited in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

This vaccine, Covaxin, is also available for exports. Many countries are already in active dialogue with the supplier. Trials have shown that Covaxin is 81 per cent effective, besides being safe. And, of course, the third aspect of any vaccine is affordability, and it goes without saying that the Made in India product is the most economical. 

Early in January, the Indian government had asked the SII to stop exports until there’s enough for Indian population. Could this happen again?

I think there is no reason for any fear. This might have possibly happened very early on. In recent days and weeks, we have calculated requirements for our own population. We have also made a series of commitments to the international community, the developing world mainly. How much can be shared with the outside world is based on a very credible assessment of India's manufacturing capacities. It is interesting that we are supplying vaccines to even countries like Canada and the UK; they have received their consignments.

We actually plan to export 1.4 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccine shots between now and end of 2021. So there's a lot of thought and action in terms of planning this process. Obviously, the government of India is wholly committed to fulfil the needs of the population of India. But we have surplus capacities to share Made in India vaccines with the outside world as well.

This is a story of a developing country being fully able to helping out fellow developing countries in difficult times.

What’s the total capacity of India’s vaccine production?

There is a report published a few days ago by the Global Health Strategies. It highlights India as the largest producer of vaccines, manufacturing over 60 per cent of all vaccines globally. For Covid-19, globally, the Serum Institute plans to deliver up to 1.4 billion doses of Covid-19 between now and the end of this year. And this is in addition to various other vaccines that they are manufacturing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kenya in July, 2016. Among agreements signed with President Uhuru Kenyatta was the construction of a modern cancer centre at Kenyatta National Hospital. What’s the progress of this offer?

 That proposal of India helping Kenya set up a cancer hospital by offering a line of credit is on the table. We await the Kenyan government’s response.

What’s the proposed cost of the cancer hospital?

It was not quantified when the announcement was made because the final costs would depend on what precisely is the concrete proposal from the Kenyan side. There are other initiatives from the same visit which have already been concluded. 

After the 2016 visit of our Prime Minister, the announcement of gifting a radiotherapy equipment Bhabhatron II has already been implemented. It is already up and running at Kenyatta National Hospital, treating thousands of cancer patients.  

There was also an offer for donation of essential medicines

Yes, there was an offer and it has been implemented through supplies of medicines worth over $2.5 million.  

Also, sometime in April last year, the Government of India had decided as a friendly gesture in solidarity with Kenya to send a consignment of medicines used for managing Covid. This consignment was delivered to Kenya in June last year. And it was received by CAS Health and CAS Foreign Affairs.

We have also trained online about 75 Kenyan experts on vaccine development and on Covid management under India’s e-ITEC programme.

You’re barely five months in Kenya, where would you want to see the state of cooperation between Kenya and India, especially in health care?

There's a huge scope for healthcare cooperation, and it can be at different levels. At the hospital level, I think institution to institution linkages both in the private and public sector is something which can be done. We have already spoken about vaccines.

Cooperation in supplies of generic pharmaceuticals is already underway and well known. There are many major Indian drug companies operational in Kenya.  Rather than bringing finished formulations from India, they could also set up manufacturing facilities to manufacture drugs in Kenya. We have had some preliminary conversations on this, and a lot of ground needs to be covered on both sides. For Indian companies to set up their manufacturing facilities here; the kind of assistance could they get from their business partners and also from the government of Kenya government in terms of facilitations, incentives etc. needs to be discussed in detail.

Are there some impediments hampering this?

I cannot think of any.  I have been in Kenya for five months and I’ve been in touch with the doctors, hospital administrators and colleagues in government. I have not seen anything which can be described as an impediment that cannot be overcome.  

Some activities might have been slowed down due to the restrictions imposed by Covid. But it is my expectation that as soon as the pandemic recedes, we should be able to pick up. A lot of work needs to be done by both sides.

What makes health services in India so cheap compared to so many other countries offering same standards?

A lot of people from Kenya visit India for medical treatment. The reason is easy to understand. India offers world class treatment in world class hospitals by world class doctors at a fraction of the cost which one would pay for the same treatment in Europe or the US. And I can say this with even higher level of certainty because you can consider me an insider of the healthcare system in India. I was a medical doctor before I joined the diplomatic service!

The costs of services and goods are generally lower in India. As a result, the cost of treatment is much more affordable for our Kenyan friends. I have come across a number of heartwarming stories in Kenya. Patients, some very sick, going to India, getting treated and returning healthy and satisfied. 

The other factor is the economies of scale. India is a country of over 1.3 billion people. As I say, in India we have big problems, but at the same time we also have big solutions!

Further, in India, people revere doctors.  Indian doctors, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, are revered almost as demigods. People have so much respect for healers. They generally view doctors as people who heal, not as those who do something just to charge money. This, I think, adds to the sense of responsibility in doctors. The tradition of healing is very strong in India.

Since last year, India and South Africa supported by Kenya unsuccessfully petitioned the World Trade Organization for Covid-19 treatments and diagnostics to be patent free. Would do you want to comment on that?

There's so much talk about vaccine nationalism being a major impediment to the fight against Covid-19. In our view, if the richer countries keep the vaccines only for themselves and the developing countries don't get it, the global fight against the Covid pandemic would be futile.

No one is safe until everyone is safe.  India's position is very clear. We are opposed to vaccine nationalism. And at the same time, we encourage vaccine internationalism by example. In these difficult Covid times, we remain opposed to the attitudes of holding patents for the Covid vaccines. We should share. India is sharing the output of our large vaccine manufacturing capacities with the outside world, so that the humanity can benefit.

Edited by T Jalio