World Bank agrees to give $100mn to SL for Covid battle

IANS

Colombo, 23 Sep 2021: The World Bank has agreed to give a $100 million loan to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19, local media reported on Thursday.

 

The island nation’s government said the funding would be to procure 14 million doses of the Pfizer vaccines as well as for financing other costs pertaining to the inoculation program, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal submitted by Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella to this effect, the government information department said in a statement.

 

A mass-scale inoculation program is currently underway in the country with over 51 per cent of the population vaccinated to date.

 

The Health Ministry said the leading vaccine being administered across the nation was the Sinopharm vaccine with 11,182,365 people receiving the first dose and 9,102,271 receiving the second dose till date.

 

Sri Lanka has recorded an overall of 508,672 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 12,376 deaths.