Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

President Ilham Aliyev has positively assessed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination in Azerbaijan and described the country as the leader in the South Caucasus in this sphere.

He made the remarks in an interview with the Azerbaijani Television after the opening ceremony of a newly-constructed building of the Abseron district central hospital on February 1.

“Azerbaijan is the first country of the South Caucasus to start the vaccination. At the same time, Azerbaijan is among leaders in our region. It is as a result of these efforts that the work has been done properly from the first days of the pandemic, all necessary steps have been taken and contacts have been established with international organizations,” the head of state said.

He added that Azerbaijan is a member of the COVAKS initiative and it will get various vaccines through COVAKS.

“We have already ordered 4 million doses of the vaccine, and they have already arrived in Azerbaijan. The vaccines are made in China. The vaccination started in Azerbaijan on 18 January. For comparison, in the European Union, it started on 18 December of last year. So the people of Azerbaijan started to receive these vaccines only a month later. And this, of course, is a manifestation of our effective work in the field of vaccination,” Aliyev added.

Anti-COVID steps

The president noted that Azerbaijan managed to keep the COVID-19 situation under control at all times.

“The fact that we bought new laboratories in the country has played a special role here. Because we had only eight laboratories before the pandemic, and only a thousand tests could be performed a day. At present, the number of laboratories has reached 42 and as many as 20,000 tests can be performed. So we are doing that. A total of 2.4 million tests have been performed. That is a very large number,” Aliyev added.

He added that 13 modular hospitals were brought to and installed in Azerbaijan.

“Now we have a full hospital fund that allows us to resolve all issues related to the disease, and there are enough wards and intensive care units.”

Aliyev spoke about Azerbaijan’s support to other countries during the pandemic as a country chairing the Non-Aligned Movement.

"Financial and humanitarian assistance was provided to more than 30 countries during this period. Also, voluntary donations of $10 million were made to international organizations, including the World Health Organization. Of that, $5 million went to their common pandemic efforts and the other $5 million was provided to the poorest countries of the Non-Aligned Movement [NAM],” he stressed.

Unfair distribution of vaccines

He added that Azerbaijan as a country chairing the NAM and committed to its word, raises on the global arena the issue related to the unfair distribution of vaccines.

"When I took over the chairmanship, I said that Azerbaijan would defend international law and justice, protect the interests of all member countries, and we are doing exactly that,” he added.

Aliyev pledged that Azerbaijan will continue to raise its voice over the abovementioned situation.

"Today, I take this opportunity to call on members of the Non-Aligned Movement to join us. We must raise this issue in the international arena, in the UN. We need to appeal to the World Health Organization, we need to appeal to companies, we need to appeal to rich countries to give up these practices. This is injustice. This cannot be ignored. This cannot be hushed up. Azerbaijan as the leader of the second-largest institution after the UN will continue to have its say in this regard,” he said.

He noted that developed countries account for 14 percent of the world's population, have so far ordered 53 percent of the world's supply of vaccines.

"So there is injustice and inequality yet again. There is a Moderna vaccine... Ninety-eight percent of the Moderna vaccine has been ordered by rich countries. Pfizer is a European vaccine, and 96 percent of Pfizer vaccine has been ordered by rich countries. But what should the citizens of poor countries do? Get sick? When they get sick, they are more likely to die because the health care system in such countries is by far worse than that of developed countries. Therefore, we must talk about these issues and not hush them up," Aliyev added.

Commenting on rich countries’ efforts to secure only their own interests, Aliyev questioned their values of democracy, justice and human rights.

“According to a recent report, Canada has ordered vaccines for 154 million people. Canada has a population of 38 million. This country, the government of this country adopted a pro-Armenian stance during the Patriotic War, supported the occupiers, wanted to cast a shadow on our cause and even imposed an unfounded embargo on the export of Bayraktar drone cameras to Turkey. This pro-Armenian country orders 154 million vaccines and pays for them, but it has a population of 38 million people. That is four times more. This means that the vaccine will not reach out to 120 million people. They will not receive it, they will get sick and die. But they do not care," he said.

“Under such circumstances, what kind of democracy can we talk about? What kind of justice, mercy or human rights can we talk about? This means that the rights of people in poor countries are being violated and their health is at risk. But rich countries, as they say, secure their interests by blowing their own interests out of proportion, by providing four to five times more than they need”.

Restoration of Karabakh

Aliyev shared his views about further steps to be taken as part of the restoration of liberated lands. He said that all work will be done in a consistent manner. He noted that all IDPs will be able to return to liberated lands after they are demined.

“First comes mine clearance. This is a big process. The Armenians are not giving us maps of minefields. That is why explosions are frequent now. We are now reshaping the Mine Action Agency, and it will be more efficient now. But it will take some time. Of course, mine clearance work must be completed," he said.

Aliyev added that after demining, comes the assessment of the damage.

"If we do not assess the damage, we will not be able to succeed in the compensation lawsuit tomorrow. Therefore, first of all, local authorities should certify all the houses that have been destroyed. They must prepare video and photo materials, make drone footage, protocols. Every building in every village and every city must have its own passport. We will provide this information to the international companies involved. They will conduct their own research, conduct monitoring missions and assist us in the compensation lawsuit against Armenia. So this is the sequence," he noted.

The president said that after the abovementioned stages, infrastructure projects will be implemented, houses and social facilities such as hospitals, schools, cultural centres, sports facilities will be built.

"Everything should be done in a planned manner,” he added.

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