ADB lends for vaccines, health care in India

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been proactively increasing its engagement with India. A number of approval and agreement has come India’s way in recent months.

- Mehul

ADB has approved a $1.5 billion loan on 25 November 2021 to help the Government of India purchase safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease. The project is financed through ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to co-finance an additional $500 million for the project. In another development, the GoI has requested a regular loan of $500 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources to help finance the Strengthening Multimodal and Integrated Logistics Ecosystem (SMILE) program, a policy-based loan (PBL) to support the government undertake wide-ranging reforms in the logistics sector in India.

The $1.5 billion loan will fund at least 667 million covid vaccine doses for an estimated 317 million people. It will support India’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan, which aims to fully vaccinate 944.7 million people aged 18 years old and above, accounting for 68.9% of the population.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said: “Vaccines are critical in overcoming the intertwined health, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic, including rejuvenating economic activities, sustaining health services, restoration of livelihoods, and reopening of educational institutions, with renewed focus on social and human development priorities.”