WASHINGTON, June 29, 2021 – The World Bank has approved $30 million in additional financing from the International Development Association (IDA)* to help Benin vaccinate its population against COVID-19.
This additional financing for the COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project will allow the country to provide its population with free and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and put in place the health system needed to successfully conduct this national vaccination campaign. Financing will cover, inter alia, the cost of purchasing 2,888,587 vaccine doses, the purchase and upgrading of the cold chain system, equipment, and infrastructure, and the strengthening of service delivery so that vaccines can be effectively rolled out in the entire country.
“Benin’s investment in the improvement of its testing and treatment capability has enabled it to develop an impressive COVID-19 response capacity. The work done in recent months is strengthening the country’s resilience to public health emergencies,” said Atou Seck, the World Bank Country Manager for Benin. “This additional financing will allow Benin to ramp up its vaccination campaign and better protect the population against this pandemic.”
This financing brings the total amount of World Bank assistance to Benin for the COVID-19 health response to $72 million. It has covered, inter alia, the outfitting of 13 laboratories for screening and other biological testing, the setting up of more than 80 screening centers, the establishment of three treatment centers including the outfitting of the treatment facility of the former police academy, and the construction and outfitting of two prefabricated hospitals in Abomey-Calavi and Natitingou, bringing the total capacity to 180 beds. It has also helped with the purchase of nine fully equipped ambulances and more than 6,000 personal protective equipment items, the provision of equipment, materials, and medication for medical emergencies and medical assistance through the supply of 60 ventilators and the purchase of five universal anesthesia machines, as well as equipment and materials for temperature screening and more than 1,000 handwashing facilities.
World Bank COVID-19 Response
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has committed $125 billion to address the health, economic, and social crisis, the fastest and largest crisis response in its history. This financing is helping more than 100 countries strengthen pandemic preparedness, protect the poor and jobs, and jump start a climate-friendly economic recovery. The World Bank is also mobilizing $12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.
*The World Bank’s International Development Association, established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low- to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have increased steadily and averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61% going to Africa.
