ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has approved $153 million to support Pakistan’s ongoing vaccination drive and facilitate the South Asian nation in its fight against the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the restructuring of the Pandemic Response Effectiveness in Pakistan (PREP) project, originally approved in April 2020, to redeploy $153 million to support the ongoing national vaccine drive in Pakistan,” Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan, said in a statement on Thursday.
The move is part of the World Bank’s efforts “to help developing nations purchase and distribute vaccines, tests, and treatments.”
“The third wave of COVID-19 emerged in Pakistan in March 2021 and is threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people,” the statement said.
It added that the World Bank remains a “committed partner to support Pakistan in addressing this public health crisis,” including through vaccination aid, and by providing support to tackle the social and economic impacts of the pandemic.
Besides financing the jabs for Pakistan, the World Bank has also allocated $768.5 million to support the purchase and rollout of vaccines in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, in addition to providing technical assistance and knowledge-sharing workshops for various South Asian nations.
Pakistan, which is currently dealing with the third wave of the pandemic, will begin vaccinating all residents aged 30 and above from May 16.
It has registered 874,751 coronavirus cases and 19,467 deaths since the start of the pandemic in February last year.