The Dominican Republic donated a total of 50,000 vaccines to Jamaica to fight against COVID-19, making it the first Caribbean nation to receive Dominican cooperation within the framework of the International Cooperation Program to assist Central American and Caribbean countries.

Dominican Ambassador to Jamaica Angie Martínez participated in the handover ceremony held at the National Arena in Kingston, together with Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith;  Jamaican Minister of Health and Wellness, DrCristopher Tufton;  and the representative in Jamaica of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Ian Stein.

“This donation is an act of solidarity with the Government and people of Jamaica, on behalf of the Dominican government and the business community, who provided the funds for the acquisition of the vaccines, whose delivery occurs precisely on the day that we as Dominicans celebrate the 177th anniversary of our Constitution, which is based on human dignity and respect for fundamental human rights,” said Martínez.

Johnson Smith expressed special thanks to the Dominican Foreign Minister, Roberto Álvarez, for having responded favourably and without reservation to Jamaica’s request for assistance. She pointed out that the donation creates great opportunities for both countries and called for even greater levels of cooperation between the two countries.

“Jamaica knows that it has a friend in the Dominican Republic, and we are committed to the deepening of the relationship between both nations,” said Martinez.

The ceremony ended with remarks from Tufton, who thanked the Dominican Republic for its solidarity with the Jamaican people at one of the most difficult moments for humanity, adding that “this great act of generosity would be forever recorded in history and would never be forgotten by the Jamaican people”.

The Dominican Ambassador, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the minister of health, and the PAHO representative in Jamaica, witnessed the inoculation of Jamaican citizens with the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the Dominican government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.