WASHINGTON, June 18, 2021—The World Bank approved $30 million in additional financing to support Malawi in the acquisition and deployment of safe, affordable and effective COVID-19 (coronavirus) vaccines.
This is an additional financing for the existing Malawi’s COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness project bringing the World Bank contributions to the country’s health sector COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts to a total of $37 million. The additional financing will mostly go towards the procurement and deployment of eligible COVID-19 vaccines to cover an estimated eight percent of the population by December 2023.The additional funds will accelerate the Government of Malawi’s ongoing efforts to deploy COVID-19 vaccines and strengthen the national systems for public health preparedness.
“As Malawi rolls out the second phase of vaccination which extends beyond the initially targeted group, the demand for more vaccines to reach a larger share of the population is huge. This financing will therefore help Malawi acquire and deploy safe and effective vaccines according to our National Vaccine Deployment Plan,” said Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, Minister of Health.
Specifically, the additional financing will support (i) strengthening surveillance and case management; vaccine procurement and deployment, including associated risk communication and demand generation; (ii) building national and sub-national capacity to prepare and respond to health emergencies; and (iii) enhancing implementation management and monitoring and evaluation (including monitoring and reporting of adverse occurrences and improving grievance redress mechanisms through a dedicated hotline and enhancing citizen engagement activities).
“In addition to taking a heavy toll on the welfare of the Malawian people, the COVID-19 pandemic is unraveling hard won economic gains and worsening inequality. COVID-19 vaccines, alongside widespread testing, improved treatment and strong health systems, are critical to protecting lives and laying foundations for Malawi's economic recovery,” said Hugh Riddell, World Bank Country Manager for Malawi. “This additional financing represents an important new contribution towards an expanded health sector response to the pandemic and builds on the World Bank’s existing health portfolio as well as the technical and financial support from key development partners in Malawi.”
Aligned with Malawi’s Country Partnership Framework which prioritizes human capital development, this additional financing will enable the government to expand its health response and disease prevention measures and leverage technical and financial support from key development partners. The World Bank remains a steadfast partner committed to helping Malawi achieve a resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery while protecting the poor and most vulnerable.
World Bank Group COVID-19 Response
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has committed over $125 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the pandemic, the fastest and largest crisis response in its history. The financing is helping more than 100 countries strengthen pandemic preparedness, protect the poor and jobs, and jump start a climate-friendly recovery. The Bank is also providing $12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.
