World Bank approves $12 billion for COVID-19 vaccine

The World Bank's Executive Board today approved $12 billion in financing for developing countries to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments for their citizens.

The financing is designed to support the vaccination of up to 1 billion people and is part of the World Bank Group's (WBG) maximum $160 billion package through June 2021 to help developing countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It adds new funding to the World Bank's COVID-19 Emergency Response Program, which has reached 111 countries. This financing package helps signal to the research and pharmaceutical industries that citizens in developing countries also need access to a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. It will also provide financial and technical support so that developing countries can coordinate with international partners to prepare for large-scale deployment of the vaccine. In implementing the plan, the World Bank will support multilateral efforts currently led by WHO and COVAX.

World Bank Group President David Malpass said, "We are expanding and scaling up our rapid approach to COVID emergencies so that developing countries have fair and equitable access to vaccines." "Access to safe and effective vaccines and enhanced delivery systems are key to changing the course of a pandemic and helping countries suffering catastrophic economic and financial impacts move toward recovery."

Developing countries will use a different approach to access and delivery of approved vaccines. The approach draws on the World Bank Group's extensive expertise in supporting mass immunization programs for vaccine-preventable diseases and public health programs that address infectious diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases.

In addition to purchasing the COVID-19 vaccine, World Bank Group funding will support countries' access to COVID-19 testing and treatment and expand immunization capacity to help health systems deploy the vaccine effectively. This includes supply chain and logistics management for vaccine storage and handling, trained vaccinators, and large-scale communication and outreach activities for communities and households.

The new financing builds on the Bank's broader health program, which focuses on strengthening health systems and health service delivery. The Bank's strong network of technical advisory and implementation support capacity is already on the ground with partner agencies in many developing countries and will help to further strengthen these systems.

WBG's private sector International Finance Corporation (IFC) is also investing in vaccine manufacturers through its $4 billion Global Health Platform. The aim is to encourage developed and developing economies to accelerate the production of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics and to ensure access to available doses in emerging markets.