Will Commit $2 Billion For Vaccines In Developing Countries By End-April: World Bank

The $2 billion is part of a pool of some $12 billion that the World Bank has made available overall for vaccine development, distribution and production in low-and middle-income countries, van Trotsenburg told a World Bank forum.

The World Bank Group will have committed $2 billion in financing by the end of April for COVID-19 vaccines in some 40 developing countries, World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg said on Friday. The $2 billion is part of a pool of some $12 billion that the World Bank has made available overall for vaccine development, distribution and production in low-and middle-income countries, van Trotsenburg told a World Bank forum. David Malpass, the World Bank's president, said in separate remarks to the lender's development committee that the bank expects this to expand to $4 billion worth of commitments in 50 countries by mid-year. But public health officials at the same forum warned that a race between the coronavirus and the vaccines meant to stop it could be lost if the pace of vaccinations in the developing world did not pick up.