Moscow, Dec 17 (Sputnik) The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will give a grant worth $1 billion to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region to purchase vaccines against COVID-19.
“The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced that it will mobilize $1billion to help Latin American and Caribbean countries acquire and distribute COVID-19 vaccines,” the authority said in a press release published on Wednesday.
According to the document, this funds will complement the $1.2 billion already allocated by the IBD in 2020 as well as other funds already scheduled for 2021.
“We are expanding our support to help Latin American and Caribbean countries ensure timely access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines,” IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone said.
The IDB will support the countries in three principal areas: the purchase of the vaccines through multilateral mechanisms such as the COVAX Facility, established by the World Health Organization. The second sphere is the institutional strengthening to help countries develop effective mechanisms for vaccine distribution. And the third area will tackle the issue of the investments to boost immunization capacity and finance operational costs.
The Inter-American Development Bank is one of the main mechanisms of long-term finance for economic and social development in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean region.
