African countries to benefit from Covid-19 vaccine funds readied by World Bank

The World Bank told Reuters that it is setting apart Covid-19 vaccine funds to help about 30 African countries access to vaccines. 

Africa scrambles to secure doses and start immunising vulnerable groups and only a few governments have launched mass vaccination campaigns.

On the other hand, millions of Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered to people in countries in wealthier parts of the world. 

Many African countries rely on the World Health Organization’s vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX, which delivered its first doses last week with a shipment to Ghana.

Without disclosing the amount of support, the World Bank said financing projects are being prepared in African countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, Mozambique, Tunisia, eSwatini, Rwanda and Senegal. 

A spokesperson for the global lender said, “The funds are available now, and for most African countries, the financing would be on grant or highly concessional terms.” 

The World Bank last month approved financing of $5 million from the International Development Association to provide Cape Verde with vaccines.

“This is the first World Bank-financed operation in Africa to support a country’s COVID-19 immunisation plan and help with the purchase and distribution of vaccines,” the spokesperson said.

Reportedly, the coronavirus death toll in Africa rising fast as a second wave overwhelms hospitals. The death toll has surpassed 100,000. 

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Morocco and Egypt are African countries that have began Covid-19 vaccination. 

The African Union’s disease control body said last week that the continental bloc was supporting calls for drugmakers to waive some intellectual property rights on vaccines to speed up their roll-out to poorer countries.