Geneva: With the coronavirus still raging in many parts of the world, UNHCR warned on Tuesday of vaccine shortages, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.
Moreover, the UN agency also urged immediate and stronger support for the global COVAX initiative for equitable access to covid-19 vaccines, including for refugees and asylum-seekers.
"This is critical to save lives and curb the impact of the virus, particularly in developing nations," UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told a regular press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Although Asia-Pacific countries host the vast majority of more than 80 million forcibly displaced people around the globe, they have benefited from only a fraction of the world’s covid-19 innoculations, according to the agency.
Concern over the situation in the region continues to rise as the number of cases has surged to the largest increase globally.
"The lack of hospital beds, oxygen supplies, limited intensive care unit (ICU) capacities and scarce health facilities and services have worsened outcomes for those infected with covid-19, particularly in India and Nepal," said Mahecic.
Amidst overcrowded settings, limited water and inadequate sanitation facilities, refugees remain especially at risk of covid-19.
In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where almost 900,000 Rohingya refugees are living in the single largest and most densely populated cluster of refugee camps in the world, the number of cases has jumped considerably in the last two months.
Although some refugees, including in Nepal, have received their first jab with COVAX-provided supplies, not a single vaccine has been administered to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
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