The Philippine government received a total of $1.2 billion worth of loans from multilateral development banks (MDBs) to purchase and distribute Covid-19 vaccines nationwide. The Washington-based World Bank approved $500 million worth of funding support, while the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $400 million in loans.
In a briefing on Friday, ADB confirmed that the amount is being extended together the $300-million loan from the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which was earlier confirmed by the China-led MDB.
Covid-19 vaccines are critical to accelerating the recovery of the Philippine economy, rebuilding livelihoods and restoring quality jobs. With this financing, ADB seeks to help the country save lives and allow Filipinos to return to normal life as soon as possible, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said in a news statement.
In a separate statement, the World Bank said the loan will be used to vaccinate the population based on vulnerability and risk. In an e-mail to the BusinessMirror, the World Bank said the amount will cover vaccines for 13 percent of the countrys population.
This, however, World Bank said, would be subject to the outcome of the negotiations of the national government and vaccine manufacturers, as well as the countrys vaccine procurement plan.
The Washington-based lender said the vaccines to be purchased are those that either have World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification or approval by one Stringent Regulatory Authority (SRA) listed by the WHO, including emergency use authorization.
Vaccines that can be purchased also include those that have already obtained approval by three SRAs, including emergency use authorization such as SRAs from at least two different regions.
Please take note that besides the purchase of vaccines, the additional financing will also support the Philippines to continue to implement public health measures until a majority of the population has been vaccinated or is deemed safe based on global evidence, the World Bank said in an e-mail.
Apart from the purchase of vaccines, the assistance will also support the implementation of the countrys public health measures until a majority of the population has been vaccinated or is deemed safe based on global evidence.
The use of Web platforms to gather citizen feedback on the vaccination program, as well as beneficiary feedback surveys to boost engagement with citizens will help ensure effective implementation.
Procuring and administering vaccines provide the country an added layer of defense against Covid-19 on top of public health measures or interventions like social distancing, wearing of masks, and washing hands, said Ndiamé Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand.
Meanwhile, the ADB said the $700-million loan from ADB and AIIB will be used to finance the Second Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit Covid-19 under the APVAX (HEAL 2) project.
The ADB and AIIB loans will together fund the procurement of up to 110 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for as many as 50 million Filipinos.
This is expected to include 44 million doses from the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access [COVAX]whose cost-share will be financed by the project, and 6 million single doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The estimated coverage of up to 50 million Filipinos assumes a wastage rate of 10 percent, ADB Southaest Asia Senior Social Sector Specialist Sakiko Tanaka said in a presentation on Friday.
HEAL 2 builds on and complements ADBs Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit Covid-19 (HEAL) project, which was approved in August 2020.
In January 2021, ADB approved the reallocation of $25 million under the HEAL loan to fund the governments advance payments to vaccine suppliers to secure the delivery of vaccines this year.
Further, ADB said any vaccine supply contract supported by ADB will follow its own procurement rules and guidelines, including its anti-corruption and integrity policy.
Under the HEAL 2 loan agreement, ADB will pay vaccine suppliers directly. The financing will also follow global best practices on safeguards measures, including waste management of medical supplies.
Were bringing in a total of $700 million. The government does have a robust vaccination plan. They have now started the rollout with the vaccination, AstraZeneca and Sinovac, ADB Philippines Country Director Kelly Bird said in a briefing.
Theres a technical assistance thats also supporting the monitoring and surveillance of the deployment plan. With good progress that would allow quicker acceleration of reopening the economy and it would also be a boost to economic recovery, he added.
ADB said the Philippines has one of the highest numbers of Covid-19 infections in Southeast Asia, with more than 600,000 confirmed cases as of Thursday, March 11.
Image credits: PHOTOS BY PNA AND PCOO
