Vaccines for All initiative

Our President, Dr. Kezevino Aram, began vaccine advocacy in November of 2020 with a focused message on the need for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country. Dr. Aram’s global advocacy stressed on the ethic of solidarity that underpinned the ‘Vaccine for All’ initiative. “Till all of us are safe, none of us are safe” was a refrain in her messages that highlighted the need to make sure that vaccines would reach the most vulnerable populations, whose poverty and lack of access to technology and information would act as barriers to vaccine accessibility. As and when vaccination was made available to healthcare workers and frontline workers in India, the ICPH and the Shanti Ashram staff were vaccinated in batches between January and June 2021. And since vaccination was opened up to the general population, the team at ICPH has organised 16 COVID-19 vaccination sessions for vulnerable populations, elders, and volunteers in partnership with the Government. As of 26th June 2021, 100% of our staff have been vaccinated, and they have facilitated the vaccination of 439 people.

On the 15th of June 2021, Shanti Ashram and ICPH successfully organised our first COVID-19 vaccination clinic in partnership with RAAC, No Food Waste and Small Differences. 326 shots were given to the most vulnerable groups that include single mothers, transgender women, families living with HIV, family members who had lost a loved one to COVID-19 and rural women. Shanti Ashram’s volunteers and our own staff and their families who have all worked so hard through the pandemic were also vaccinated in this camp.

Shanti Ashram and ICPH have created a COVID-19 Taskforce to drive the agenda of ‘Vaccines for All’ forward, with a goal to vaccinate 2,000 vulnerable families by the end of 2021. The Taskforce, in addition to holding more vaccination camps in the future, will also initiate a youth focused campaign to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination amongst young people in our country. Data has also emerged about a troubling gender gap in vaccinations – as of May 31st 2021, 90,095,606 men had been vaccinated compared to 78,271,582 women. Shanti Ashram is committed to ensuring that the women in our immediate service villages have access to vaccinations and have begun awareness campaigns to ensure that women across the country have equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine.