March 19: The World Bank has approved $75 million to support Nepal in getting access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines and equitable vaccine distribution system.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, March 18, the World Bank said its Board of Executive Directors approved the amount from the International Development Association (IDA) to support strengthening Nepal’s health and vaccination system.

According to the World Bank, the financing is expected to facilitate vaccination of at least one-third of the population through an equitable distribution plan.

“The pandemic presents immense challenges and an uncertain environment, particularly in the purchase, supply and distribution of vaccines,” the statement quoted Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank’s Country Director for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, as saying. “It is a testament to our strong partnership with Nepal that the Bank has been able to move quickly to support the government’s ambitious plans to vaccinate at least 72 percent of the population.”

The additional financing builds on the $29 million for the original COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project that was approved in April 2020, the existing bank-supported health programs, and confirmed support of other development partners in the context of the government’s overall COVID‐19 response, the statement further said.

Most of the new financing (90 percent) will go to the purchase of COVID‐19 vaccines and deployment for prioritized populations beyond the 20 percent that will be vaccinated through COVAX. The rest of the financing will help strengthen the health system to support the COVID‐19 vaccination effort and procure other COVID‐19-related supplies such as diagnostic tests, laboratory equipment and therapeutics. The additional financing also supports community engagement and risk communication, and strengthening existing digital technology‐based pandemic data, surveillance and monitoring systems.

“This support is critical for Nepal to safeguard the physical health of its people and economic health of the nation,” said Gail Richardson, World Bank Practice Manager for South Asia for the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice. “Providing fast and fair access to the approved COVID-19 vaccines for the most vulnerable people will expedite population-level immunity, which is central to resilient recovery from the devastating effects of COVID-19.”

This additional financing for Nepal is one of the three projects in a first phase of support for the COVID-19 vaccination effort across the South Asia region. On Thursday, the World Bank’s board also approved additional financing from IDA of $500 million for Bangladesh and $60 million for Afghanistan. In addition to financing, the Bank is also providing technical assistance and knowledge-sharing workshops for countries in South Asia on different aspects of designing and deploying fair and equitable vaccine strategies.

The World Bank, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, said it is taking broad, fast action to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19. This includes $12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments, and strengthen vaccination systems. The financing builds on the broader World Bank Group COVID-19 response, which is helping more than 100 countries strengthen health systems, support the poorest households, and create supportive conditions to maintain livelihoods and jobs for those hit hardest.