BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

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NAIROBI -- Kenya should increase budgetary allocation towards programs that aim to cushion disadvantaged groups from negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, campaigners said Thursday.

Antonia Musunga, national coordinator of Kenya Fight Inequality Alliance, said that an overhaul of economic policies was urgent to ensure growth trickles down to the low-income segment of the population bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia reported 1,924 new COVID-19 infections, the health ministry said on Thursday, bringing the national total to 293,698.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that six of the new cases are imported and 1,918 are local transmissions.

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ACCRA -- Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be the first to receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country ahead of the mass vaccination which starts on March 2, Presidential Advisor on Health Anthony Nsiah-Asare said Thursday.

According to him, the move "is to assure Ghanaians that the vaccines are safe" so as to encourage the entire population to avail themselves of vaccination.

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TOKYO -- Tokyo on Thursday reported 340 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the capital's cumulative total of infections to 110,740.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, the daily tally has remained below 500 for the 19th straight day.

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NEW DELHI -- India's drugs controller has rejected vaccine maker Bharat Biotech's request to conduct clinical trials of Covaxin on children and asked the company to submit its report on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, local media said Thursday.

The drugs regulator's rejection came after hearing an application by Hyderabad-based pharma company on Wednesday sought approval for Phase 3 clinical trials of Covaxin on children between 5-18 years of age.

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BEIJING -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Thursday said dozens of countries have approved the emergency use of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines, and China will continue to promote the equitable global distribution of vaccines.

China puts the safety and effectiveness of vaccines first and has made sure that companies conduct vaccine research and development in strict accordance with scientific methods and regulatory requirements, Zhao told a press briefing. Enditem

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