The U.S. has allocated $1 million to Azerbaijan to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Earle Litzenberger has said.
Litzenberger added that the funds will be transferred to Azerbaijan through the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Azerbaijan confirmed its first COVID-19 case on February 28, 2020. The country introduced a special quarantine regime on March 25 and took a number of measures to fight COVID-19. Moreover, the government allocated $1.1bn from the 2020 budget to fight the coronavirus infection.
The vaccination started in the country on 18 January 2021. As a country chairing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Azerbaijan provided financial and humanitarian assistance to more than 30 countries.
Voluntary donations of $10 million were made to international organizations, including WHO. Of that, $5 million went to their common pandemic efforts and the other $5 million was provided to the poorest NAM member countries.
On March 23, 2021, a resolution on “Ensuring equal, affordable, timely and universal access to vaccines against COVID-19” was adopted within the framework of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the initiative of Azerbaijan as the NAM chairman.
The resolution called on UN Member States and other relevant bodies (international organizations, private sector representatives, civil society members, etc.) to take appropriate measures to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed fairly among all states. At the same time, it expresses support for international initiatives created to support equitable distribution of vaccines, including the COVAX initiative and urges all states to remove unnecessary barriers on the export of vaccines to other countries.