United with India: Supporting India's COVID-19 vaccination drive
17 February 2022
Caption: Tabasum Bashir, a healthcare worker from the Primary Health Center Boniyar in North Kashmir, braves freezing temperatures and snow to vaccinate people living in this remote, mountainous region in December 2021.
On January 30, 2022, India announced that 75 percent of its adult population had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with some 1.7 billion doses of vaccines administered and over 720 million people fully vaccinated in just over a year.
This collection of photos highlights how the UN in India, a proud partner of the Government of India, mobilized its resources and capabilities to support India's vaccination drive.
Winning over COVID - CoWIN
Caption: The CoWIN (Winning Over Covid-19) digital platform developed by the Government of India is the cornerstone of the country’s successful vaccination drive, enabling vaccine tracking, as well as making appointments and issuing vaccination certificates. UNDP has been providing technical and implementation support to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to roll-out the CoWIN platform across the country.
Upgrading cold chain systems was critical in strengthening India's capacity to deliver COVID-19 vaccines.
Caption: Government employees transfer vaccine boxes from vaccine carriers to walk-in-coolers at the District Cold Chain Point in Maharashtra, India’s second-most populous state, on 20 October 2021. To support the COVID-19 vaccination drive as well as routine long-term vaccination for children, UNICEF procured and supplied 238,272 pieces of cold chain equipment to India, benefiting 310 million people.
Caption: Nilam Bamaniya, a general nursing midwife (GNM) travels in an ambulance to collect vaccines for a COVID-19 vaccination session at a Public Health Centre in western India in July 2021. COVID vaccines are transported in blue vaccine carriers that are part of the cold chain system.
India’s frontline health workers are the unsung heroes in the battle against COVID-19. Millions of volunteers have worked tirelessly across the country to increase awareness, amplify messages on COVID-appropriate behaviours and treatments, and boost vaccine confidence.
Caption: 19-year-old Harshali Pachaya, a RKSK Volunteer, walks through a village in central India in July 2021. UN Agencies supported India's frontline workers - procuring millions of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) that helped keep them safe, training them in Infection Prevention and Control and risk communications on COVID-19 mitigation to help them keep their communities safe.
Ending the pandemic and saving lives depends on everyone everywhere receiving vaccines, including the most marginalized groups, refugees, and remote populations. India has included refugees and asylum-seekers in its national vaccination programme.
Caption: Forty-six-year-old Afghan refugee Zahra Shafaie was among those to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. UNHCR India has engaged refugee communities and got their support in disseminating critical COVID-19 public health and social measure updates to their communities.
Caption: Payal Devi Pujak receives COVID19 vaccine at a vaccination camp organised by the Government of Gujarat, UNDP, and civil society organisations for members of the transgender and LGBTQ communities. In collaboration with State Health Departments and community-based organisations, UNDP is facilitating COVID-19 vaccination among transgender communities and other vulnerable population groups in the states of Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha, and Haryana.
Caption: India is using locally-developed drones to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, access remote areas, and strengthen the vaccine delivery system—ensuring that everyone everywhere receives life-saving vaccines. These drones delivered over 900 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to a remote island in eastern India in October 2021.
Caption: Muskan Patel received a COVID-19 vaccination in Chattarpur District in Madhya Pradesh in January 2022. Peer Educators (PEs) supported by UNFPA raised awareness through door-to-door campaigns on vaccine hesitancy in 185 villages and administered over 20,000 vaccinations.
This photo essay was produced by UN in India. You can find the full collection of images here. Curated and edited by Lyla Peng, Development Coordination Office. For more information on the United Nations' work in India, please visit: UN in Action.
