The World Bank has released a statement in which they announced the list of those 51 countries to whom they are going to provide over $4 billion for the acquisition & supply of Covid-19 vaccines, and the list also includes Pakistan in it.
According to a World Bank press announcement circulated on June 30, more than half of the funding comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the bank’s finance for the world’s poorest countries, & is offered as a donation or on highly concessional contractual conditions,
As per their sources, the financing is part of the World Bank’s pledge to low- & middle-revenue-generating countries to get and distribute vaccines & strengthen their health systems. Half of the 51 countries are from Africa.
The previous month, the World Bank’s Executive Committee of Management Directors endorsed the reorganization of the ‘Pandemic Response Effectiveness in Pakistan’s project, initially endorsed in April 2020, to divert $153 million to support the constant national vaccine push in Pakistan.
These funds are reassigned upon request by the federal government & will help fund the purchase & deployment of safe & effective Covid-19 vaccines that meet the criteria for eligibility of the World Bank.
This project will bolster the health system’s ability to implement a vaccination campaign for its selected and eligible residents.
Meanwhile, the chiefs of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization & World Trade Organization conducted the 1st meeting on June 30 of the special working group on the Covid-19 vaccines in Washington.
After the meeting, they released a joint statement in which they announced to establish a task force as a “war room” to help track, manage, & advance the delivery of Covid-19 health tools necessary to developing countries & to mobilize relevant interested parties and national leaders to remove critical barriers.
