The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday that it had delivered over 100 million COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh from multiple World Health Organization (WHO)-approved manufacturers since June 2021.
The threshold was passed after Bangladesh received a shipment of 20.46 million doses of vaccines from China on Tuesday, part of a cost-sharing agreement between the Bangladesh government, the Asian Development Bank and UNICEF, according to a Xinhua report.
The 100 million vaccines delivered so far also include over 50 million doses that UNICEF has delivered to Bangladesh under the COVAX facility, which is the WHO-led initiative for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, it said.
The government of Bangladesh has also received large quantities of vaccines through bilateral agreements in addition to the vaccines delivered by UNICEF, it added.
The UN agency said the fresh delivery of vaccines is a welcome boost for Bangladesh's efforts to achieve its target of vaccinating 80 per cent of the total population by June 2022.
The agency said 28.44 per cent of Bangladesh's total population had been vaccinated with a second dose as of Sunday.
"The clearest way out of this pandemic is vaccine equity and boosting vaccination rates globally. Getting vaccines from manufacturers and into recipients' arms in every corner of Bangladesh as quickly as possible is critical," said UNICEF representative to Bangladesh Sheldon Yett.
UNICEF has been organizing the international transportation of COVID-19 vaccines and supplies for the COVAX Facility since February 2021, in what is the largest, most complex logistical operation in the history of immunization, it said.
"Getting the vaccines to Bangladesh is only the first part of the battle. Safely delivering them the last mile to the communities that need them most is equally as important, and we salute the government of Bangladesh and partner organizations who make this possible," Yett said.