ULAN BATOR, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia on Friday received the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, a global initiative to ensure quick and equal access to vaccines against the virus.

Sergey Diorditsa, representative of the World Health Organization in Mongolia, handed over the initial batch of 14,400 doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines from the COVAX, to Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg.

"At a time when equal access to COVID-19 vaccines has become a global problem, our country is receiving vaccines under the COVAX program," Battsetseg said at the ceremony, expressing her sincere gratitude to all donors and international organizations who have contributed to the program.

Mongolia launched a COVID-19 vaccination campaign across the country on Feb. 23, and 71,100 people have been vaccinated against the virus so far.

The Asian country is planning to vaccinate at least 60 percent of its 3.3 million population, and 20 percent of them will be vaccinated under the COVAX, according to the country's health ministry.