PH secures $300M for Covid-19 vaccination program

THE Philippines secured a $300 million loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to fund its vaccination program against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said.

Dominguez confirmed the approval in a text message on Thursday.

“Loan signing is on Monday,” Dominguez said in a separate Viber message.

The finance chief said the amount is for the Second Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit Covid-19 (HEAL 2) project that aims to assist the Department of Health (DoH) in procuring and ensuring delivery to the country of vaccines certified by the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX) and bilateral vaccine suppliers that meet APVAX eligibility criteria.

The project is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which had approved $400 million for the project.

The ADB and AIIB loans will fund the procurement of up to 110 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for as many as 50 million Filipinos.