US$75 million agreement signed to support access to COVID-19 vaccines for Nepal’s prioritized populations

In order to support access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for Nepal’s prioritized populations, the Government of Nepal and the World Bank yesterday signed an agreement for additional financing of US$75 million.

Signed by Sishir Kumar Dhungana, Finance Secretary of the Government of Nepal, and Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, this additional financing builds on the US$29 million of the original COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project (ERHSPP) that was signed in April last year.

The project, led by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) of Nepal, will be implemented by the Department of Health Services and associated institutional bodies.

Considering this additional financing as an important and timely support of the Government of Nepal’s overall plans to vaccinate at least 72% of the Nepalese population, Finance Secretary Dhungana said, “It assists the government’s health response to the pandemic by supporting the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines as well as strengthening health systems for their effective deployment as per the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan.”

“Approximately 90% of the additional financing is expected to support the purchase, supply, and distribution of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. The rest of the financing will support existing public health measures to test, trace and treat the COVID-19 infection through a strengthened health system; community engagement and risk communication to improve the demand and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines; and project implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and learning,” the World Bank Nepal’s press statement reads.

Underscoring that equitable and fast access to effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines is vital to save lives and support a resilient recovery from the pandemic, Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka said, “The World Bank is committed to support the government’s pandemic response to protect lives, strengthen systems for public health preparedness, and stimulate economic recovery in Nepal.”

ERHSPP aims to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and to strengthen national systems for public health preparedness. The four components of the project include immediate support to prevent COVID-19, support for information and communication activities to raise awareness, knowledge, and understanding about the risk and potential impact of the pandemic, the strengthening of the MoHP of Nepal and its coordinating structures, and providing an immediate and effective response to the crisis.