COVID-19: World Bank Commits $12bn For Vaccinations In Africa

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday said the World Bank has committed $12 billion to support COVID-19 vaccination programs across African countries.

The President who made this known in a statement said the World Bank money will be in form of grants or on “highly concessional terms.” 

The statement follows the virtual meeting held on January 27 on the Africa COVID-19 vaccine financing and deployment strategy, which was attended by David Malpass, president of the World Bank.

Even in the most devastated U.S. counties, the latest Covid-19 surge is receding, buying authorities time as they attempt to vaccinate about 330 million people.

Recent hot spots including Webb County, Texas; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Greenville and Spartanburg counties in South Carolina have seen cases trend downward in the past week, according to USAFacts, a nonprofit statistics aggregator used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

READ ALSO: World Bank Supports NIMC With £172m COVID-19 PPE

Among the top-five hot spots with populations of at least 250,000, only Pinal County, Arizona, saw cases increase.

Recall that the World Bank Group on March 3, 2020, gave an initial package of up to $12 billion to support and assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global COVID-19 outbreak. 

 The financing was designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the tragic impacts posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus). 

Also on October 13, 2020, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved an envelope of $12 billion for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments for their citizens. 

The World Bank who made this known said the financing aims to support vaccination of up to a billion people, is part of an overall World Bank Group (WBG) package of up to $160 billion through June 2021 to help developing countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic.