KATHMANDU: The government of Nepal plans to buy 4 million doses of coronavaccine from a China’s Sinopharm company. A cabinet meeting on Monday agreed with the proposal from Ministry of Health and Population to move ahead with the COVID-19 vaccine procurement process, a minister said.
When Nepal offered to buy the vaccine, the Chinese company had said that it should enter into a ‘non-disclosure agreement’ without disclosing the price and other issues. That is why the Department of Health Services could not proceed with the procurement process.
However, the government has agreed to a non-disclosure agreement as per the Chinese proposal after the procurement process with other companies did not move forward. A minister says, “There was a discussion in the cabinet on Monday. Today we also asked in the board of directors of Covid-19. The Prime Minister has said that Rs 4 million will be purchased and the first lot will come within a month.”
However, Nepal’s existing law does not allow for a ‘non-disclosure agreement’.
Speaking at the Covid-19 Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Oli said that vaccination was mandatory to control Covid-19 and homework was being done to bring 4 million doses.
Stating that efforts are being made with other countries to purchase the vaccine, he informed that the citizens will be vaccinated from this June/July.
Presently, the government is driving inoculation program with Sinopharm’s Vero Cell vaccine donated by Chinese government. The government of China has donated 1 million doses of Vero cell vaccine to Nepal.
