Japan to provide $9.3 million aid to India for building cold chain system to fight Covid-19

Japan on Friday announced that it will provide $9.3 million worth cold chain equipment and related assistance to India to help in the country's fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The assistance, under Japan's Emergency Grant Aid scheme, will provide India with cold chain equipment including medical equipment such as cold-storage facilities, as “Last One Mile Support” to ensure vaccination in each country, through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

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India's coronavirus tally rose to 3,01,34,445 on Friday after a single-day rise of 51,667 Covid-19 infections. The death toll climbed to 3,93,310 with 1,329 more people succumbing to the viral disease in a day.

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring equitable access to vaccines including in developing countries and accelerating vaccination is the common challenge for the international community.

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Japan has led the operationalisation of the COVAX Facility as an international mechanism for the procurement of vaccines, and recently announced $800 million of financial contribution in addition to existing $200 million, the statement said.

Japan’s Emergency Grant Aid aims to deliver vaccines to each and every person in all corners of developing countries, which will complement efforts of the COVAX Facility, it said.

Based on its experience in helping to build medical supply networks that reach every corner of developing countries, Japan will continue to extend support to deploy vaccines to every person in the world with a view to containing Covid-19 as quickly as possible, the statement said.