ADB lends Pakistan $500M loan for COVID-19 vax programme

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to help the Government of Pakistan procure and deploy safe and effective coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and strengthen the country’s capacity to implement its vaccination programme. The project will support Pakistan’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan by purchasing and delivering an estimated 39.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, safety boxes, and syringes. It is financed through ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility launched in December 2020 to offer rapid and equitable vaccine-related support to ADB developing member countries. The government is aiming to vaccinate the entire eligible population, around 119 million people comprising all those aged 18 and over, prioritising frontline health care workers, the elderly, marginalised groups including refugees and internally displaced persons, and people with comorbidities. ADB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Support Project will provide financing to vaccinate over 18 million people from priority groups or about 15 per cent of the eligible population. ADB’s assistance will also help to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, and the Federal Expanded Programme on Immunisation to effectively implement the COVID-19 vaccination programme.