World Bank supports Ghana with US$200 million for emergency preparedness against Coronavirus

• It is expected to help in government's economic recovery efforts

• It is also to make the health sector more resilient

The World Bank has approved an amount of $200 million for Ghana as second financing of COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project.

This move, in collaboration with COVAX, is to support the government to procure COVID-19 vaccines for 13 million Ghanaians as part of efforts to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.

The project also aims at strengthening the health system to make it more resilient and be able to withstand future pandemics.

The money released is to also help the Ghanaian economy bounce back and to assist with overall social recovery of the country.

World Bank Country Director, Pierre Laporte in a statement said, “The World Bank is happy to support this second additional financing given the importance of preventing deaths and reducing transmission of COVID-19 among the population by providing access to COVID-19 vaccines towards accelerating economic and social recovery in Ghana.

“We are also aware of the continuing difficulties in having access to COVID-19 vaccines and logistics due to the global vaccine market challenges and will continue to work to address the inequity in vaccine supplies that is impacting Ghana and other developing countries,” he added.

Meanwhile, the government of Ghana has announced the procurement of Russia-made Sputnik V vaccines for emergency use.