ADB provides 450 million USD in loan for Indonesia to procure COVID-19 vaccines

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 450 million USD loan to Indonesia to help Bio Farma, a state-owned vaccine supplier, procure and deliver safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
ADB provides 450 million USD in loan for Indonesia to procure COVID-19 vaccines ảnh 1The RECOVER project will fund the purchase of at least 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. (Photo: ADB)
Jakarta (VNA) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 450 million USDloan to Indonesia to help Bio Farma, a state-owned vaccine supplier, procureand deliver safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease(COVID-19).

TheResponsive COVID-19 Vaccines for Recovery (RECOVER) project will fund thepurchase of at least 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for priority groupsdetermined by the Indonesian government.

The project is supported by ADB’s 9 billion USD AsiaPacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX), whichwas launched in December 2020 to offer rapid and equitable vaccine-relatedsupport to ADB developing members.

For a vaccine to be eligible for APVAX financing, it must meet one of threecriteria. It must be procured via the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility(COVAX), prequalified by the World Health Organization, or authorised by aStringent Regulatory Authority.

ADBPresident Masatsugu Asakawa said that the COVID-19 pandemic has had adevastating impact on Indonesians, with 30 million experiencing job losses orreduced work hours.

The RECOVER project will help the government protect lives and restorelivelihoods, as well as immunize millions of socially and economicallyvulnerable people at high risk of transmission as well as public serviceofficers providing critical services.

ADB will also help the government and Bio Farma improve logistics managementand deliver vaccines more effectively.

The Indonesian government aims to vaccinate 181.5 million people againstCOVID-19 in one of the world’s biggest vaccination campaigns. Indonesiarecorded more than 1.5 million COVID-19 cases and 40,000 deaths as of March 30./.
VNA

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