Pakistan is listed among 53 countries by World Bank that will receive aid for purchasing and supply of Covid-19 vaccines.
According to a World Bank press release issued here on 1st July, it is going to provide more than $4.4 billion for Covid-19 vaccines. More than half of the financing comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, and is provided as grant or on highly concessional terms.
To low- and middle-income countries, the financing is part of the commitment of World Bank in order to obtain and distribute vaccines and strengthen their health systems. Half of the 53 countries are in Africa.
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However, in June, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the restructuring of the ‘Pandemic Response Effectiveness in Pakistan’s project’, originally approved in April 2020, to redistribute $153 million to support the ongoing national vaccine drive in Pakistan.
These funds were redeployed at the request of the federal government and will help finance the purchase and development of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines that meet the eligibility criteria of the World Bank.
Moreover, this project will fortify the capacity of health system to implement the vaccination campaign for its prioritized and eligible populations.
World Bank Support for Country Access to COVID-19 Vaccines
In addition to this financing for vaccines in Pakistan, the World Bank has provided a total of $768.5 million to support the vaccination purchase and rollout efforts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
In the meantime, the heads of the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization held the first meeting in which the statement issued after the meeting.
The heads of four organizations announced to form a task force as a “war room” to help track, coordinate and advance delivery of Covid-19 health tools to under-developed countries and to mobilize relevant stakeholders and national leaders to remove critical barriers.
