Manila, Nov. 17, (dpa/GNA) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday it has allocated 20.3 million dollars to help member countries access and distribute vaccines for the new coronavirus.
“Asia and the Pacific have largely done well to limit the spread of Covid-19,” said Woochong Um, a director for sustainable development at the Manila-based bank.
“Ensuring access to safe, effective and equitable vaccine is the next frontier in the fight against the virus.”
“With these additional grant resources, ADB can immediately support our developing members to undertake urgent actions, including vaccine system assessments and vaccine deployment strategies, to ensure vaccines are delivered efficiently and fairly,” he added.
In April, the ADB approved a 20-billion-dollar assistance package to support its members’ Covid-19 response.
In the new aid programme, 20 million dollars will come from the bank’s technical assistance special fund, while 300,000 dollars will be financed by Japan.
The new assistance will help members prepare and strengthen vaccine cold chain and logistics, infection control, supply and skills of health workers, risk communications, and real-time data capturing and monitoring.
In September, the ADB projected that the Asia-Pacific region’s aggregate gross domestic product would decline by 0.7 per cent in 2020, the first negative economic growth since the early 1960s, due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
About three-quarters of the region’s 46 economies are expected to post negative growth in 2020, it added. Economic growth was projected to rally to 6.8 per cent in 2021.
GNA