World Bank agrees $500m financing for Bangladesh COVID-19 vaccinations

The World Bank has approved $500 million in financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to help Bangladesh vaccinate 54 million people against COVID-19.

The additional financing to the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project will help Bangladesh procure safe and effective vaccines, expand vaccine storage facilities, and distribute vaccines to about 31% of its population, in support of the government’s prioritized plan of covering 40% of the population in the first phase of vaccination. 

The financing will cover the cost of deployment of the vaccines acquired through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility for about 20% of the population. For the remaining 11% of the population, the financing will cover direct purchases of vaccines from manufacturers or through COVAX, and the costs related to administering the vaccination. In parallel, the government is purchasing vaccines using its own resources that will cover another 9% of the population.