World Bank, IMF urge action on Covid vax access

The World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have called on countries anticipating excess Covid-19 vaccine supplies in the coming months to release their surplus doses as soon as possible to developing nations.

"The coronavirus pandemic will not end until everyone has access to vaccines, including people in developing countries," World Bank Group President David Malpass and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a joint statement to the G7 industrialised countries on Thursday.

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"Worldwide access to vaccines offers the best hope for stopping the coronavirus pandemic, saving lives, and securing a broad-based economic recovery," Xinhua news agency quoted quosted the statement as saying.

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They noted that together with the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank Group and IMF have urged international support for $50 billion of financing aimed at achieving more equitable access to vaccines and thus helping to end the pandemic everywhere.

"We are urging developing countries to move quickly to put in place vaccine procurement and distribution plans and communication efforts to convey the life-saving importance of approved Covid-19 vaccinations," the two heads continued.

IMF estimates, a faster vaccination rollout could inject the equivalent of $9 trillion into the global economy by 2025.

They also urged vaccine manufacturers to prioritise the scale up of vaccine production, providing increased access for developing countries, adding that their multilateral organisations will work actively to encourage and support greater access.

"Distributing vaccines more widely is both an urgent economic necessity, and a moral imperative."

According to IMF estimates, a faster vaccination rollout could inject the equivalent of $9 trillion into the global economy by 2025, due to a faster resumption of economic activity.

Indo-Asian News Service