How many vaccine doses did India supply during the COVID-19 pandemic, as cited at the meeting?
- A.150 million doses to about 60 countries
- B.300 million doses to about 100 countries and two UN entities
- C.500 million doses to about 120 countries
- D.700 million doses to about 90 countries
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is 300 million doses to about 100 countries and two United Nations entities. India cited this supply, along with medical assistance to more than 150 countries, as proof of the principle of One Earth, One Health and of its commitment to the Global South. Option A halves the number of doses and shrinks the list of recipients. Option C and option D inflate the supply well beyond what was stated at the meeting. The figures are usually asked as a pair, so hold the number of doses with the number of recipient countries, and keep the two United Nations entities in mind, because a question may turn on that small addition alone. The wider point India made was that access to essential health products must rest on solidarity rather than on the ability to pay.
Read the full article: India Presses for Fair PABS System at UN Pandemic Meeting
Practice Questions
Who represented India at the UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response?
- A.The Union Health Minister
- B.Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava
- C.The Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
- D.The Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research
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The correct answer is Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, who spoke for India at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 25 September and reaffirmed the commitment of the country to global health security.
Read the full explanation →In the context of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, what does PABS stand for?
- A.Pandemic Alert and Biosecurity System
- B.Public Access to Biological Samples
- C.Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing
- D.Preparedness and Basic Surveillance
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India argued that the agreement will be judged by whether this system is fair, so that a country which shares pathogens or biological resources receives vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and other technologies in return, within a reasonable time and with its sovereignty intact.
Read the full explanation →Which plan of action did the first BIMSTEC Health Ministers Meeting adopt?
- A.Revised BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Public Health (2026-2030)
- B.BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Pandemic Response (2025-2035)
- C.Bay of Bengal Health Charter (2026-2036)
- D.BIMSTEC Digital Health Mission (2027-2032)
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Along with the unanimously adopted Joint Ministerial Statement, this plan was accepted at Colombo and gives the grouping a structured roadmap for cooperation in disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, digital health, traditional medicine, the One Health approach and the development of a health workforce.
Read the full explanation →India announced that it will host the BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at which institution?
- A.All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi
- B.National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur
- C.Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar
- D.Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, Pune
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At Colombo the Union Health Minister announced India’s commitment to hosting the BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at this institute, and the Joint Ministerial Statement welcomed the initiative.
Read the full explanation →The first BIMSTEC Health Ministers Meeting was held in which city?
- A.Dhaka
- B.Colombo
- C.Bangkok
- D.Kathmandu
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The first meeting of the health ministers of the BIMSTEC countries took place in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, on 11 November 2026, and Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health and Mass Media, Nalinda Jayatissa, chaired the proceedings.
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