The World Bank Will Finance COVID-19 Vaccines for 20 Million Peruvians

WASHINGTON  – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US $ 500 million loan to strengthen Peru’s Vaccination Plan through the procurement of 40 million COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate 20 million people (62 percent of the population), including adults who have not completed their vaccination schedule and minors.

The vaccines, from Pfizer and Moderna laboratories, will be delivered during the first half of 2022.

In Peru, like in the rest of Latin America, COVID-19 has seriously affected the population’s health and livelihoods, as well as the country’s economy. The pandemic has also threatened the country’s important social and economic gains of the past two decades, exacerbating poverty and inequality. To address the impact of this crisis, the country must accelerate efforts to close vaccination gaps.

Peru has made considerable progress in vaccinating the population in 2021. In just seven months, the country increased its fully vaccinated population from 2 percent in May to 69.7 percent in mid-December. The shift towards a territorial strategy was crucial for increasing the pace of vaccination. To date, more than 19.5 million people have received two doses, and 22.8 million have one dose.

“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on every aspect of development and people’s well-being. In this context, vaccination represents hope for a better future,” said Marianne Fay, World Bank director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. “Peru has made significant progress with the implementation of the National Vaccination Plan. From the World Bank, we will help strengthen and accelerate these efforts to improve the protection of life and health of people, as well as the prospects for the country’s economic growth and sustainable development.”

With this operation, the World Bank continues its support for Peru’s response to the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, the World Bank has provided nearly US $ 1 billion in contingent and policy program support financing for economic reactivation. It has also offered technical assistance in critical areas to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, such as social protection, health and education, and has contributed to financing emergency bonds for vulnerable populations. More recently, it approved a US$ 68 million loan to improve and expand the services of the National Public Health Surveillance System in 25 departments. Currently, the World Bank offers technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to strengthen pandemic monitoring throughout the country, as well as to inform targeted mitigation and economic reactivation activities.

World Bank Group COVID-19 Response

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group has deployed over US$ 157 billion to fight the health, economic and social impacts of the pandemic, the fastest and largest crisis response in its history. The financing is helping more than 100 countries strengthen pandemic preparedness, protect the poor and jobs, and jump start a climate-friendly recovery. The Bank is also supporting over 50 low- and middle-income countries, more than half of which are in Africa, with the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. It is making US$ 20 billion in financing available for this purpose until the end of 2022.