PH Seeks $ 300 Million World Bank Loan to Purchase COVID Vaccines

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is seeking a new $ 300 million loan from the World Bank to purchase vaccines for COVID-19, according to documents from the multilateral lender seen by the Inquirer on Saturday.

In response to the loan request made last November, the bank allowed the government to initially use $ 25 million to $ 30 million of its $ 100 million loan for the Duterte administration’s emergency COVID-19 project in April of last year, according to a document.

Another document said that the amended loan agreement would provide financial support “to the health sector of the borrower (Philippines) in the purchase and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine project.”

On December 29, Finance Secretary Carlos Domínguez III confirmed and agreed to the amendment or restructuring of the April 2020 loan on behalf of the government, according to the documents.

The World Bank said the proposed additional financing would be submitted to its Washington-based board for approval during the first quarter of this year.

So far, only $ 8.15 million of the $ 100 million loan had been disbursed to purchase additional medical equipment and strengthen the health care system during the pandemic. The loan agreement came into effect in May 2020.

“While there were delays during the initial implementation period, there has been significant progress in implementing the activities in recent months,” said the Washington-based multilateral lender.

Equipment purchases

“Significant progress was made on component one, with the signing of several contracts,” he said.

The bank said the contracts were for the purchase of mechanical ventilators, portable X-ray machines, masks, gowns and N95 gloves for a total of $ 27.2 million, or 27 percent of the total project amount.

The packages for civil works under component two “have advanced to the pre-contracting stage,” the World Bank said.

The first component of the project aimed to strengthen the country’s emergency response to the new coronavirus, while the second component aimed to strengthen the capacities of national and sub-national laboratories to prevent emerging infectious diseases.

Among the most affected

“The current [loan] the disbursement is 8 percent, but the overall commitment has reached 27 percent. Project disbursements are expected to increase and reach at least 35 percent by March 2021, ”added the World Bank.

The documents did not mention the reasons for the delays in the use of the loan by the Department of Health (DOH), the main executor of the project loan.

According to the World Bank, the Philippine government requested the additional financing last November “at a critical juncture of the [Philippine government’s] response to the COVID-19 pandemic ”, noting that the Philippines was one of the countries in East Asia and the Pacific most affected by the pandemic.

He cited a December 22, 2020 report of a total of 462,815 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 9,021 deaths from the severe respiratory illness. Cases of new infections had decreased and were at a “relatively low level,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the development of COVID-19 vaccines is now in an advanced stage and is being rolled out in some countries,” the World Bank said.

He said it would provide options for the purchase and financing of vaccines, including direct purchases from manufacturers, either individually by country or in conjunction with others.

Some countries could also buy excess stocks from other countries or enter advance purchase mechanisms, such as the Global Access Center for COVID-19 Vaccine.

The bank said that borrowers who want to buy vaccines must meet the criteria it has set for such loans.

“The bank’s approval criteria for the COVID-19 vaccine are: it has been approved by three strict regulatory authorities in three regions; or it has received prequalification from the WHO (World Health Organization) and has been approved by a strict regulatory authority, ”he said.

The amended loan agreement included guidelines covering military and police involvement in the delivery and distribution of vaccines, which must be coordinated with DOH.

The amendment also requires that before the Philippines can distribute or deliver vaccines, DOH must prepare and adopt a “manual for the COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution project,” which lists which sectors will be prioritized for inoculation.

There must also be rules and procedures that establish minimum standards for the cold chain, logistics and waste management infrastructure; guidelines for the collection of personal data; and a vaccine distribution action plan, which includes a timeline and steps for immunization.

“The borrower will ensure that the ownership of the assets generated, the goods acquired and the works built by any military or security unit with the loan funds are transferred or granted to DOH or any equivalent or appropriate line ministry or agency agreed with the bank, ”said the modified loan agreement.

Pandemic-induced recession In addition to the $ 100 million loan for the COVID-19 emergency response, the Philippines also obtained from the World Bank a total of $ 2.87 billion (approximately P138 billion) in other loans for targeted programs and projects. to pull the economy out of the pandemic-induced recession. The loans were obtained from April to December of last year.

These included the two loans totaling $ 900 million approved in December: $ 600 million to promote competitiveness and improve resilience to natural disasters and $ 300 million in additional financing for the national community-driven development project.

Data from the Department of Finance shows that foreign loans and grants obtained by the Philippines to boost its COVID-19 war chest amounted to $ 13.36 billion as of mid-December last year.

For the procurement of vaccines, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in December that it was in talks with the Philippines for a $ 325 million (P15.6 billion) loan under its new Vaccine Access Center. Asia and the Pacific (Apvax).

The ADB and World Bank loans for the procurement of vaccines will increase the P72.5 billion allocated in the national budget from P4.5 trillion in 2021: P2.5 billion in the DOH budget and P70 billion in non-allocations. scheduled.

According to the Department of Budget and Management, unscheduled appropriations can only be spent if there were excess revenue collections, new sources of revenue, or loans approved for foreign-assisted projects.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare leaders and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

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