Over 1.4 million people of at-risk populations in Nepal took their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine between March 7 and 15, 2021. To be fully immunized, and to ensure that the effect of the first dosage does not become largely ineffective, this group must have their second jab before July 5, 2021. However, Nepal does not have these doses. To date, Nepal has only been able to fully vaccinate 2.4% of its population and has not received deliveries as scheduled amid another deadly wave of Covid-19. The international community, particularly wealthier countries with large vaccines supplies like the UK, must urgently provide sufficient doses to Nepal so it can fully immunize these 1.4 million people, and fulfil the right to health and right to life of hundreds of thousands.
TAKE ACTION: 
- Please take action as-soon-as possible. This Urgent Action expires on August 17, 2021.
- Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
- Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 71.21. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.
Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
Email: [email protected]
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to bring your urgent attention to the deadly wave of Covid-19 in Nepal and to request immediate support from your government to address the dangerous and acute shortage of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine supplies, which puts the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk.
It is distressing to learn that the more than 1.4 million Nepali people, who belong to high-risk groups and received their first vaccine doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca in March 2021, have been unable so far to get their second doses. While it is welcome that the UK has already supported the COVAX Facility, unfortunately this has not been enough, as several lower- and middle-income countries, including Nepal, face glaring vaccine gaps, while wealthier countries have ordered vaccines well beyond their requirements.
The UK has unique strong current and historic ties with Nepal. The UK is the largest bilateral donor to Nepal and thousands have served in Britain’s armed forces. Owing to this, and as the current chair of G-7, I am appealing to you to urgently look to directly supply Nepal with additional vaccine doses, in order to prevent the damaging risk to the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of Nepali citizens who would otherwise be left without access to a second dose. To date, Nepal has only fully vaccinated 2.4% of its population. At this rate, it will take more than 10 years for Nepal to vaccinate 70% of its population.
Nepal is only one example of many countries facing acute vaccine shortages, which can only be resolved in the long term by ensuring that intellectual property rights are not a barrier to much-needed increased global production by a wider range of manufacturers and fair distribution across countries.
Therefore, I call on you to:
- Provide immediately 1.4 million Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Nepal so that this group of people can be fully immunized by June 27 to July 5;
- Share urgently additional vaccine doses and encourage others to do the same, preferably through initiatives such as COVAX so all countries have a fairer access to Covid-19 vaccines and can immunize their population in a timely fashion, especially priority groups who are most at risk;
- Support the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS waiver, which lifts intellectual property rights restrictions, and push pharmaceutical companies to share their knowledge and technology with other manufacturers to maximize global supply of much-needed Covid-19 vaccines.
- READ THE FULL URGENT ACTION: Word or PDF
- GET INSPIRED: Read about the people you have helped
- READ TIPS for writing effective letters and emails
- CONTACT US: [email protected]