India Is Shipping Tons Of Life-Saving Hydroxychloroquine & Paracetamol Tablets To 108 Countries

India is not only gathering praise for its leadership and timely intervention to contain coronavirus in the country and South Asia but also gratitude for helping hundreds of countries with a life-saving drug.

A government official told newspaper Hindustan Times that India is shipping about 85 million hydroxychloroquine tablets and close to 500 million paracetamol tablets to 108 countries.

Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug. It treats malaria by killing the parasites that cause the disease. It is a treatment for auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It is less toxic than CQ but prolonged usage and overdose can still cause poisoning. It has shown promise as an antiviral agent to battle the coronavirus.

AP

Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.

The demand for the drug has swelled rapidly in the last few days after India decided to lift a ban on its export.

In the neighbourhood, India is sending the drug to Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, sources said.

India is also supplying hydroxychloroquine to Zambia, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali Congo, Egypt, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Ecuador, Jamaica, Syria, Ukraine, Chad, Zimbabwe, France, Jordan, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman and Peru, the sources said.

Reuters

They said it is being sent to the Philippines, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Columbia, Algeria Bahamas, Mauritius and the United Kingdom.

The sources said the drug is being sent to several countries on a commercial basis while many others are getting it as India's grants.

In its latest help, the government of India handed over 600,000 tablets to Afghanistan in a bid to help the country cure the patients of the novel coronavirus.

India sent 100K paracetamol & 500K hydroxychloroquine tablets to Afghanistan using Ariana Airlines today, in addition to the 1st shipment of wheat shipped earlier, said Tahir Qadiry, charg¨¦ d'affaires of the Afghan embassy in India.

In a series of offerings of critical drugs, India sent 100,000 paracetamol and 500,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to #Afghanistan through Ariana Airlines today. This is in addition to the 1st consignment of wheat India shipped earlier to bolster food security. Heartfelt thanks! pic.twitter.com/BWlFdx5G7m

¡ª Tahir Qadiry ???? ????? (@tahirqadiry) April 17, 2020

Afghanistan is included in the list of countries to which India has decided to supply hydroxychloroquine. Afghanistan has so far reported 906 cases of coronavirus and 30 deaths.

Many of the supplies are made through special Air Force Flights, foreign evacuation charters and diplomatic cargo, boosting and cementing India's leadership in South Asia.