Red Cross Plans to Distribute Vaccines to ASEAN Countries

The head of the regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Russia, Belarus, and Moldova Ikhtiar Aslanov stated that the Red Cross is working on an equal distribution of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines in the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations "ASEAN".

"We aspire that vaccines to cover all population groups in ASEAN," Aslanov said at a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the dialogue partnership between Russia and ASEAN, and the 30th anniversary of their bilateral relations.

He noted that the Red Cross is also interested in the work of the ASEAN summits, adding that the organization wants to listen to the decisions taken there, and be ready to deal with political decisions.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that vaccines offer new hope and should be used as a major prevention tool by countries and inpiduals, and “COVID-19” vaccines are now being provided in all 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, but challenges exist in countries facing emergencies. including Syria and Yemen.

It is worth noting that China leads the world in terms of the number of doses given, followed by the United States of America, the European Union, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, and Russia.

On the other hand, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, warned that primary health care in Afghanistan is on the verge of collapse and that the entire region is at risk of destabilizing.

This came in his speech last, Monday, before the high-level ministerial conference on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, held in Geneva, in the presence of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Maurer said that water services and food prices are exorbitant. He noted that he returned a few days ago from a visit to Afghanistan, and during the visit he saw the extent of the need for social services, pointing out that while traveling from Kabul to Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, he saw the remnants of the war from newly excavated tombs on the side of the city. The road, homes, and infrastructure are destroyed.