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People line up in front a mobile vaccination van to receive a shot of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, in Karachi, on August 6, 2021. Image Credit: AP
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Islamabad: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to help the Government of Pakistan procure coronavirus vaccines and strengthen the country’s vaccination capacity.

The project will support Pakistan’s national vaccination plan by helping to procure and deliver an estimated 39.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, safety boxes, and syringes.

“This project will help to protect vulnerable groups in Pakistan and is an integral part of the development partner package helping the government to mitigate the health, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “Vaccines help to reduce the spread and mortality of COVID-19, restore confidence among citizens, and are vital to the economic recovery,” he said.

ADB reaffirmed its full commitment to support Pakistan as the government is aiming to vaccinate the entire eligible population, around 119 million people aged 18 and over, prioritizing frontline health care workers, the elderly, marginalized groups including refugees and internally displaced persons, and people with comorbidities.

“ADB’s COVID-19 vaccine support project will provide financing to vaccinate over 18 million people from priority groups or about 15% of the eligible population” in Pakistan.

The ADB funds were announced days after the World Bank said it would reallocate $150 million to Pakistan for the procurement of the vaccines.

Despite vaccine supply constraints globally, the Government of Pakistan has procured and administered more than 35 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The country of 220 million has mainly relied on vaccines import from China including Sinopharm, CanSino and Sinovac. Pakistan has also received around 8 million vaccine doses through the COVAX facility including AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna.

Nearly 7.2 million Pakistanis have been fully vaccinated and more than 28 million have received one dose as of August 6. The country, which launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in February, is now administering over one million doses of vaccine in a day.