According to Reuters, representatives of the World Bank have noticed large demand for the vaccine against Covid-19 in emerging countries. The bank also emphasizes that most of the countries will hardly be able to allocate sufficient funds for a large-scale vaccination campaign. On June 30, the organization approved a $20 million grant package.
According to David Malpass, President of the World Bank, the organization “exceeded the milestone of approval of COVID-19 vaccine deployment operations for over 50 developing countries, for a total of over $4 billion dollars”. Moreover, the bank is ready to allocate several millions to support vaccination in 25 emerging countries. In the next few weeks, the global credit organization will increase its financial support primarily for African countries, where less than 50% of the population received their doses.
Earlier, three global organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Health Organization called on the G20 countries to reach the vaccination target of 40% by the end of 2021 and 60% by the first half of 2022. The global organizations also asked the leaders of the G20 to provide developing countries with 1 million doses. The G20 countries are also expected to increase funding and eliminate trade barriers in the supply chains of vaccines.
The World Bank's call for higher targeted funding of vaccination is prompted by concerns about the strong discrepancy in the immunization rates in developed and developing countries.
Notably, at the beginning of the pandemic, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association took out credit obligations in the amount of $100 billion. The sum significantly exceeds the loans the organizations usually take. As a rule, it is no more than $60 billion.
