WASHINGTON: The World Bank on Thursday said it had approved a re-allocation of $34 million in funds to support Lebanon’s vaccination efforts as it races to contain the coronavirus pandemic, marking the first such outlay of funds by the Bank.
Lebanon has seen daily infection rates soar to the highest levels in the region, with over 6,000 cases reported on Friday, adding to economic and political pressures caused by a financial collapse and a huge port blast in August.
Thursday’s re-allocation of funds from Lebanon’s existing Health Resilience Project, is the first World Bank-financed operation to fund the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
It will provide vaccines for over 2 million individuals, with doses set to arrive in Lebanon by early February, and earmarked for priority groups such as high-risk health workers, those over 65, epidemiological and surveillance staff, and people aged 55 to 64 with co-morbidities.
“Fair, broad, and fast access to COVID-19 vaccines is critical to protecting lives and supporting economic recovery,” World Bank Group President David Malpass said in a statement.
The World Bank said the decision to free the funds followed efforts by Lebanese authorities to conduct a vaccine readiness assessment, establish a national vaccine committee, and prepare a draft National Vaccine Deployment Plan (NVDP) in line with World Health Organization recommendations.
The Bank is working closely with over 100 countries to pave the way for them to receive low-interest loans and funding to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines as part of a new $12 billion initiative approved in October.
World Bank approves $34 million to back Lebanon’s coronavirus vaccination drive
https://arab.news/yz4f3
World Bank approves $34 million to back Lebanon’s coronavirus vaccination drive
- Lebanon has seen daily infection rates soar to the highest levels in the region
Vessel struck off Oman’s Muscat, UKMTO says
DUBAI: A vessel was struck on Sunday by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
The attack resulted in a fire in the vessel’s engine room that has been brought under control, UKMTO added.
It is the second incident the agency reports on Sunday after reporting an incident off Oman’s Kumzar in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state television said Sunday that an oil tanker was sinking after it was struck while attempting to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The incident took place as Iran exchanged strikes with the United States and Israel, who launched an attack Saturday that killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader.
“The fate of the offending oil tanker that was struck while attempting to illegally pass through the Strait of Hormuz is that it is now sinking,” state TV reported, without elaborating.
It carried footage showing heavy black smoke emanating from the burning tanker at sea.
The strait carries a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and a fifth of all liquified natural gas.
On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had warned that the vital waterway was unsafe due to US and Israeli attacks and was therefore closed to ships.
