WASHINGTON, December 6, Reuters - The World Bank said on Monday that it had helped deliver 100 million doses of COVID 19 vaccines around the world and would reach the 150 million mark by the end of the month.
World Bank President David Malpass said the multilateral development bank had contracted for more than 300 million doses, with some $7.5 billion in vaccine financing operations for 69 countries to be committed by the end of December.
In a conference hosted by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Malpass stressed the need for rich countries to fulfill their generous dose donation pledges as soon as possible, and unveiled a new database to track which countries needed financial and operational support.
Delivery swaps, like the one recently executed between the United States and Moderna, were helpful to meet near-term needs.
Ample funding is available and we're working with partners to address the current crisis and prepare for future ones, said Malpass, who added that enhanced data and transparency was critical to ensure resources flow where they were needed the most.
The orgen who-we are news coronaviruses-covid 19 covid 19 vaccine-deployment tracker would help with specific bottlenecks to scale up vaccine deployment. It is based on the joint work between the World Bank and the COVAX Country Readiness and Delivery Team, which includes the World Health Organization, UNICEF and GAVI.