India has said it stands ready to "expeditiously" send more Covid-19 vaccines to Africa to help fight the Omicron variant after China pledged one billion doses to the continent, Reuters reports.

"The government of India stands ready to support the countries affected in Africa in dealing with the Omicron variant, including by supplies of made-in-India vaccines," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the government had cleared all orders placed by Covax for supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine to countries such as Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea and Lesotho, apart from delivering doses of the home-grown Covaxin shot to Botswana. It did not say how many doses have been approved recently.

India also promised the supply of life-saving drugs, test kits, gloves, personal protective equipment kits and medical equipment such as ventilators as required.