The Dominican government announced it has donated 50,000 AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to Jamaica, as part of the International Cooperation Program to help Central America and the Caribbean countries.
With this donation, Jamaica becomes the first in the Caribbean to receive Dominican cooperation under the above program. Previously the Dominican government had announced it has donated vaccines to Guatemala and Honduras in Central America. The DR government also offered to donate AstraZeneca vaccines to Haiti, but the Haitian government did not accept the vaccines.
The Dominican Ambassador to Jamaica, Angie Martinez, participated in the ceremony held at the National Arena stadium in Kingston on 6 November 2021, together with the Minister of Foreign Relations and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, Kamina Johnson Smith; the Minister of Health and Welfare of Jamaica, Dr. Christopher Tufton; and the representative in Jamaica of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Lan Stein.
“This donation is an act of solidarity with the government and people of Jamaica, on behalf of the government and the Dominican business community, that provided the funds for the acquisition of the vaccines, whose delivery occurs precisely on the day when Dominicans celebrate the 177th anniversary of our Constitution, which is based on human dignity and respect for fundamental rights,” said Ambassador Martinez.
For her part, the Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade expressed special thanks to her Dominican counterpart, Roberto Alvarez, for having responded favorably and without reservation to Jamaica’s request for assistance.
Johnson Smith also noted that the donation creates “great opportunities” for both countries, which are called upon to increase the existing level of cooperation.
“Jamaica knows that it has a friendly country in the Dominican Republic, and we are committed to the blossoming of the relationship between the two nations,” said the Foreign Minister.
The Jamaican Minister of Health thanked the Dominican Republic for its solidarity in one of the most difficult moments for humanity, assuring that “this great act of generosity will be forever recorded in history and will never be forgotten by the Jamaican people.”
The Dominican Ambassador, the Jamaican Foreign Minister, the Jamaican Minister of Health and the PAHO representative in Jamaica witnessed the inoculation of Jamaican citizens with the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Dominican government through the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
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Listin Diario
Covax
ACS
10 November 2021