New Delhi: India has, so far, approved the supply of the antimalarial drug hydroxychroloquine to 53 countries for fighting the coronavirus pandemic.Since India is the largest producer of HCQ tablets, there has been a request for supply of the medicine, even though its efficacy in treatment of COVID-19 is to still to be established through clinical trials.On Thursday, a senior government source said that the Indian government has cleared a list of 53 countries who will be supplied with HCQ, which had been earlier put on the prohibited list for exports.“India has come to be recognised as reliable global supply of medicine,” he said.Out of the 53 countries, 21 will be supplied with HCQ on commercial basis. “India is also giving HCQ tablets on a grant basis, but in a smaller amount,” he added.Also read: Centre’s ‘More Than Enough’ Assurance Rings Hollow as India Feels Hydroxychloroquine CrunchIndia had first cleared a list of 13 countries, which had US, Spain, Germany, Bahrain, Brazil, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Mauritius and the Dominican Republic. “The supplies for this list have already been lifted”.Thereafter, a second list of countries was drafted, which are in “various stages of clearance”. The third list of countries was approved on Wednesday. Most of the countries to which India is supplying HCQ in grant are in the neighbourhood, in Africa and in Central Asia. The list also includes countries like war-ravaged Syria and the Marshall Islands in the Indian Ocean, which had taken India to the International Court of Justice over alleged violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.Last week, health ministry officials had said that India’s demand for HCQ had been calculated at 1 crore tablets, while the current stock was 3.28 crore tables.Meanwhile, sources added that the list of 53 countries may be expanded in the coming days, with requests from several countries like Iran and Malaysia still pending. The senior government official confirmed that he wasn’t yet aware of any request from Pakistan for supply of HCQ tablet.
