The World Bank has come to the aid of Kenya by approving $130 million which will help the country to fight the Covid-19 pandemic by procuring vaccines through the African Acquisition Task Team (AVATT) initiative along with the help of the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facilities, according to media reports.
The amount will also support the deployment of those vaccines by boosting Kenya’s cold chain storage capacity and building an additional 25 more county vaccine stores. It will also strengthen the capacity of the 36 existing sub-county stores and improve the equipment facility of 1,177 health facilities.
Keith Hansen, World Bank Country Director for Kenya told the media, “This additional financing comes at a critical time when the Government of Kenya is making concerted efforts to contain the rising cases of COVID-19 infections and accelerate the deployment of vaccines to a wider population. The upfront financing for the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines will enable the government to expand access to more Kenyans free of cost.”
Additionally, some other activities that will be funded are vaccine safety surveillance, healthcare worker training, and improving the advocacy and communication activities that will encourage the people to take the vaccine.
Since the pandemic started, the World Bank has spent over $125 billion worldwide to help the countries fight the social, economic, and health impact that has affected the various sectors because of the virus. Reports also suggest that it has helped over 100 countries to strengthen their position to fight against the virus, to protect the lower-income population and their jobs while keeping in mind a climate-friendly recovery. The World Bank is also providing $12 billion to middle and lower-income countries so that they can buy Covid-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.
So far, Kenya has reported 282,884 total COVID-19 cases, 124,588 recoveries and 3,612 deaths as of this writing.