World Bank Loans Nigeria $400M For COVID-19 Vaccines

The World Bank Board has approved a $400 million credit to Nigeria for COVID-19 vaccine acquisition.

The bank which announced this in a statement in Washington noted that the fund was meant to provide financing for safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and deployment within the country, as part of the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project.

This is in order to purchase affordable COVID-19 vaccines for 18 per cent, or about 40 million of Nigeria’s population and support effective vaccine deployment to 50 per cent, about 110 million Nigerians.

The bank also said that the additional financing would allow Nigeria to purchase and deploy COVID-19 vaccines, strengthen relevant health systems that are necessary for a successful deployment and prepare for future health emergencies.

In the statement, “critically, it will permit the acquisition of vaccines to support Nigeria’s objective of having access to vaccines under the right conditions of value-for-money, regulatory approvals, and delivery time, among other important features.

“This will ensure that the government meets its plans to vaccinate 51 per cent of its population in two years.”