WASHINGTON, June 25, 2021—The World Bank approved $100 million in International Development Association (IDA) financing accelerate the procurement and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines in Madagascar. This financing will also strengthen Madagascar immunization services thanks to key investments in the health system which are essential to ensuring effective delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and will support future immunization efforts.
The Support to COVID-19 Vaccine Purchase and Health System Strengthening Project will mobilize up to $71 million to finance vaccine acquisition. The acquisition is expected to be implemented through the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) and the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) purchasing mechanisms. The project will fully immunize around 5.6 million people. The project will also help deploy COVID-19 vaccines to 40% of the population, complementing support from COVAX and other partners. In addition to vaccines, this project will also finance vaccination supplies needed for vaccine delivery and distribution.
“We salute the efforts of the Government of Madagascar which include successfully completing the first phase of vaccination on June 17. Building on these efforts, this project will support the government’s national vaccination plan which aims to achieve herd immunity for Madagascar and provide free vaccination for the entire adult population on a voluntarily basis,” said Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, World Bank Country Manager for Madagascar. “Like in the rest of the world, this pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the Malagasy population and the Bank is committed to supporting efforts to accelerate immunization which is a critical pillar for building back better.”
In addition to supporting COVID-19 vaccine acquisition and deployment, this project will also strengthen the health system over the long-term thanks to key investments in logistics, the cold chain, vaccination sites, and surveillance and information systems.
World Bank Group COVID-19 Response
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has deployed over $157 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 supporting over 50 low- and middle-income countries, more than half of which are in Africa, with the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, and is making available $20 billion in financing for this purpose until the end of 2022.
