By Rodrigue Forku
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AA) – The World Bank has approved an $8.5 million grant in additional financing to support affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in Sierra Leone.
The bank said Wednesday that the funds will provide upfront financing to help purchase and deploy coronavirus vaccines and to strengthen relevant health systems in the West African country.
According to the statement, the additional resources will also support the costs of expanding activities of the Sierra Leone COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project under the country’s Coronavirus disease Strategic Preparedness and Response Program.
“These additional funds present an opportunity for us as a government to strengthen our response to the pandemic and to broaden the implementation of the coronavirus vaccine rollout,” said Sierra Leone’s Minister of Health and Sanitation, Austin Demby.
“Now the work of translating available funds into vaccinations and COVID-19 prevention and care activities goes into high gear. As a ministry, we continue to look forward to our strong collaboration with the World Bank as we collectively work to improve health outcomes for the people of Sierra Leone,” he added.
Gayle Martin, World Bank Country Manager for Sierra Leone, said: “Given the importance of limiting the spread of COVID-19 to improve health outcomes and support economic recovery, providing access to vaccines will be crucial to accelerate economic and social recovery for Sierra Leone.”
“This additional financing comes at a critical time and will respond to critical needs for financing the COVID-19 vaccine deployment to scale up and build on ongoing efforts for health systems strengthening in the country," Martin said.
Sierra Leone has so far confirmed 4,219 coronavirus cases, with 3,161 recoveries and 82 deaths, according to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
