- ADB is helping the Philippines purchase safe and effective vaccines to ramp up its national COVID-19 immunization program through a $400 million loan. This will finance direct payments to vaccine suppliers such as Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Pfizer-BioNTech.
- ADB has partnered with AIIB to procure up to 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for as many as 50 million Filipinos to help achieve herd immunity, save lives, and ensure economic recovery.
- The Philippines was the first recipient of financing support under ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX). A $400 million loan approved in March 2021 has been helping the country purchase safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19.
The Philippines was the first recipient of financing support under the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX). A $400 million loan was approved in March 2021 to help the country purchase safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The project is supported by $300 million in cofinancing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The ADB and AIIB loans will together fund the procurement of up to 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for as many as 50 million Filipinos.
In June 2021, shipments of ADB-AIIB-procured vaccines from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. started to arrive in the country, followed by Pfizer-BioNTech doses in July. The contract with Pfizer under APVAX is the biggest vaccine supply deal for the country so far. The vaccine deliveries are helping the government to ramp up its national COVID-19 immunization program.
ADB will continue to support the Philippine government as it seeks to end the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and achieve universal health care.
Transcript
The Philippines is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic through testing, tracing, treatment, and social distancing to suppress the virus from spreading.
The next crucial step to save lives, achieve herd immunity, and ensure economic recovery is COVID-19 vaccination.
The government is rolling out a national COVID-19 vaccination strategy by procuring vaccines all over the world.
It is collaborating with local governments, private sector and development partners for vaccine financing.
ADB approved a $400 million loan in March 2021 to help the government secure COVID-19 vaccines.
This will finance direct payments to vaccine suppliers.
The loan was the first to be approved under ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX).
AIIB is cofinancing the APVAX loan with an additional $300 million loan.
On 11 June, the first shipment of ADB-procured 1 million vaccines from Sinovac Biotech Ltd. arrived in the country.
More than 8 million more doses have since followed as of 23 July.
The supply is helping the government to ramp up its national COVID-19 immunization program.
On 19 June, the Philippine government signed an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
This is the second contract signed under the APVAX loan and the biggest vaccine supply deal for the country.
The first batch of more than 560,000 Pfizer vaccines arrived on 21 July 2021.
More Pfizer and Sinovac doses are set to arrive in the coming months.
ADB will continue to support the Philippine government.
as it seeks to end the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and achieve universal health care.
