India Declines UN's Assistance Offer For Covid Crisis, Says It Has 'Robust System'

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, who confirmed the development in this regard, said “one of the things we did is we offered the assistance of our integrated supply chain if it was required”.

New York: Declining the assistance offered by the United Nations of its integrated supply chain for Covid-related material, India has told the intergovernmental organisation that it has a “robust system” to deal with the required logistics.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, who confirmed the development in this regard, said “one of the things we did is we offered the assistance of our integrated supply chain if it was required”.

“We’ve been told at this point that it’s not needed because India has a reasonably robust system to deal with this. But our offer stands, and we’re willing to help in whatever way we can,” PTI quoted Haq as saying in response to a poser.

“None have been sought so far, but like I said, we do have people, including our people who deal with operational and logistical issues who are willing to help, if we’re needed, and we’re in touch with our counterparts in India to see whether that will be useful,” he added when asked on whether any shipments of essential materials from UN agencies are expected to reach India amid the crisis.

The UN chief’s deputy spokesman said Chef de Cabinet to the United Nations Secretary-General Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has been in touch with India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti, over the COVID-19 situation in India, adding other officials too have also been in touch with thee officials both in New York and on the ground.

Asserting the UN is also making sure that its own staff, whether international or national, in India are taken care of so that they don’t place a burden on the healthcare system of India, Haq further said: “And luckily, we’ve maintained a very low level of cases.”

“So, we’ve, I think, been succeeding at trying to do that and making sure that we’re not pressuring a healthcare system that already is facing extreme challenges,” he added.

The deputy spokesman had earlier during the daily press briefing on Tuesday said the UN colleagues on the ground in India continue supporting the authorities and communities to tackle the pandemic’s impacts.

Haq said the UN entities have been training health workers through the UN Women initiatives, adding the UN team has also partnered with employers’ and workers’ organisations to promote jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities.

“We are also focusing on getting jobs for 10 million young people,” he added.

Haq further said over 13,000 women and youth, including returnee migrants, are being trained through entrepreneurship programmes led by UN Women and ILO.

The deputy spokesman, however, put the ball in the court of the World Health Organisation (WHO) when asked about the resurgence of the COVID-19 variant in India and whether major political rallies or religious festivals should be held during the pandemic.

“We’ve been warning about the sort of precautions that need to be taken in every country, and certainly, we want to make sure that all of the various precautions that have been recommended by the World Health Organization are followed through by every country,” he said.

Emphasizing that one of the lessons that must be clear at this stage is that it won’t be solved for any country until the Covid-19 pandemic is essentially confronted and defeated in every country, Haq said: “Although there are different places that are thankfully making progress with measures, including vaccinations or local quarantines or other different precautions, we have to remain vigilant.”