$12 million for free, equitable and informed access to vaccines for more than 500,000 people
Washington, June 2, 2021 - The World Bank today approved $12 million in additional financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to support the Republic of Congo’s efforts to expand free, equitable and informed access to COVID-19 vaccines. This new financing from the World Bank will help increase the country’s supply of COVID-19 vaccines, ensure a successful national vaccine rollout, and ramp up its efforts to inform and sensitize the general public about the importance of getting vaccinated.
This financing is part of the World Bank’s commitment to support the implementation of the national COVID-19 vaccination plan, while strengthening the vaccination capacity of the entire health system. It will also enable the Congolese authorities to deploy vaccine doses through the COVAX facility, providing vaccines to 28% of the population, and ensuring a smooth vaccination campaign across the country.
“The Republic of Congo has long experience with national vaccination campaigns and was therefore well prepared to vaccinate its population against COVID-19,” explained Abdoulaye Seck, World Bank Country Director for the Republic of Congo. “This additional financing will help the country ramp up its efforts, improve existing facilities, and develop its ultra-cold chain storage capacity, while also respecting the environment. The main focus will be to ensure the sustainability of the interventions, while strengthening control systems to deal with any future epidemics. This type of support is crucial for the country as it seeks to ensure the future well-being of its people, restore jobs, and revive its economy that has been hard hit by the pandemic.”
In keeping with the innovative approaches in the vaccination plan being adopted by the Congolese authorities, this financing will strengthen the visualization and tracking tools that were developed to enhance the visibility of the progress of the national vaccination campaign in order to allow the Congolese people to track the progress of the vaccination program in real time. An integrated communication strategy will be deployed to ensure that the Congolese people are provided with clear, evidence-based information on the virus, the different vaccines, and their possible side effects. They will also be able to express their opinions through surveys and the grievance redress mechanism.
This second financing for the COVID-19 Emergency Response Project complements the $11.3 million that was approved for the Republic of Congo in April 2020 and used by the government to step up prevention, disease surveillance, and early case detection and confirmation action. In partnership with UNICEF, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Project has provided personal protective equipment, logistical resources, PCR tests, and medical and laboratory equipment to support the emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The World Bank, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, is taking broad, fast action to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19. This includes US$12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments, and strengthen vaccination systems. The financing builds on the broader World Bank Group COVID-19 response, which is helping more than 100 countries strengthen health systems, support the poorest households, and create supportive conditions to maintain livelihoods and jobs for those hit hardest.
