World Bank Offers Africa $12Bn Vaccination Loans

Mbongeni Mguni | Monday February 1, 2021 15:54

 

The commitment comes as the continent lags behind the rest of the world in the deployment of available COVID-19 vaccines, a situation that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called “a global moral failure”.

Botswana is amongst African states that have approached the World Bank for COVID-19 vaccine loan support, in line with President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s recently announced commitment to “vaccinate the entire country”.

On Wednesday, World Bank group president, David Malpass told a virtual meeting on Africa COVID-19 Vaccine Financing and Deployment attended by African leaders, including African Union chairperson, Cyril Ramaphosa that emergency funding was available “We’re preparing emergency vaccine financing projects in 21 countries in Africa,” Malpass said.

“The funds are available now and for most African countries, the financing would be on a grant or highly concessional terms.

“We would encourage those countries that have not yet requested World Bank support to send a letter to their World Bank country director asking for support for vaccine procurement and deployment from the $12 billion facility.”

On Friday, during a visit to Namibia, Masisi said while he could not commit to exactly when vaccines would land in the country, all efforts were being made to ensure procurement was done as quickly as possible. Last November, Botswana made an upfront payment to COVAX, the WHO vaccine arrangement under which more than 180 countries will collectively secure doses from manufacturers for their citizens. Under the arrangement, Botswana is due to have 940,800 vaccines under a two-dose regimen, meaning about 20% of the population will be covered.

However, with a global scramble for vaccines and logistical issues now intensifying, Botswana is expected to receive the COVAX doses towards the end of the year, while local cases are rising by about 300 a day, with deaths increasing and recently passing the 100 mark.

The World Bank loan will help the government ‘jump the queue’ by engaging manufacturers in bilateral deals over and above the COVAX arrangement, thus providing urgently needed doses for Batswana.

Last week, Masisi said government was looking beyond COVAX and the African Union programmes, the latter of which is bringing about 270 million doses continent-wide to be shared as a proportion of the countries’ populations.

“COVAX, as much as we subscribe to it, is only 20% of the population and 20% does not hit a number needed to treat to provide protection. “Nor do you get herd immunity out of it. So we really want this urgently,” Masisi said.