The World Bank has announced a provision of USD 153 million to support the ongoing national vaccine drive in Pakistan. This sanction came after the World Bank declared to help poor countries purchase and distribute vaccines, tests, and treatments. As of May 13, the World Bank has approved vaccine projects in 21 countries amounting to more than USD 2 billion.
In a press release on Thursday, the organization asserted the strengthening of health care systems amplifying the vaccine drives for its prioritized and eligible populations. Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan said,” The third wave of COVID-19 emerged in Pakistan in March 2021 and is threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.”
In addition to financing vaccines for Pakistan, the World Bank has provided a total of USD 768.5 million to support the vaccination purchase and rollout efforts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The organization is also dedicated to providing technical assistance and knowledge-sharing workshops for countries in South Asia on different aspects of designing and deploying fair and equitable vaccine strategies.
According to WHO, the country logged 3,256 new infections and 126 deaths in the past 24 hours. 3,997,186 Pakistanis have been immunized since the initiation of the drive.