ADB helps finance rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the Pacific
The Asian Development Bank has approved $18.9 million in grants to help four developing member countries in the Pacific roll out safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease.
The grants to Samoa ($8 million), Tonga ($5.5 million), Tuvalu ($1.5 million), and Vanuatu ($3.9 million) will support their COVID-19 vaccination programs for a combined population of almost 600,000 people. 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’s developing member countries.
The grants will expand an existing ADB-supported vaccine program originally established to support the procurement of rotavirus, pneumococcal conjugate, and human papilloma virus vaccines through the United Nations Children's Fund.
