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· The World Bank provided over US$4 billion for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines for 51 developing countries. Half of those countries are in Africa
· A sizeable quantum of the financing comes from the International Development Association (IDA)
· This is in the form of a grant or highly concessional term loans
· This amount is meant to help low- and middle-income countries acquire and distribute vaccines and strengthen their health systems
The World Bank provided over US$4 billion for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines for 51 developing countries. Half of those countries are in Africa.
A sizable amount of the financing comes from the International Development Association (IDA). This is in the form of a grant or highly concessional term loans. This amount is meant to help low- and middle-income countries acquire and distribute vaccines and strengthen their health systems.
The World Bank called on the governments, pharmaceutical companies, and organizations involved in vaccine procurement and delivery to help increase transparency and build greater public information regarding vaccine contracts, options and agreements; vaccine financing and delivery agreements; and doses delivered and future delivery plans. It asked those countries anticipating excess vaccine supplies in the coming months to release their surplus doses and options as soon as possible. The purpose is to ensure developing countries with adequate distribution plans in place.
The World Bank Group since the outbreak of the pandemic has approved more than US$150 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic. Since April 2020, the Bank has scaled up its financing by over 50 percent, helping more than 100 countries meet emergency health needs.
The US$4 billion is supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Comoros, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, São Tomé e Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South
