Kathmandu: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $165 million for Nepal to purchase ‘safe and effective vaccines’ against Covid-19.
The project will support the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan in Nepal by procuring an estimated 15.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, which will benefit about 6.8 million Nepalis, ADB said in a statement on Thursday.
“ADB’s support will help the Government of Nepal procure much-needed Covid-19 vaccines to protect its citizens from the further spread of this disease,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “It is essential that vaccines are quickly purchased and administered to help get the economy back on track by enabling the restoration of livelihoods and economic activities.”
The project is financed by ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility launched in December 2020 to offer rapid and equitable vaccine-related support to ADB developing member countries.
Vaccines eligible for financing must meet at least one of the APVAX eligibility criteria: the vaccine has been selected for procurement through the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) mechanism; the vaccine has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) or WHO emergency use listing; or the vaccine has received regular or emergency licensure or authorization by a Stringent Regulatory Authority.
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