September 17 (SeeNews) - Moldova will receive a 24.8 million euro ($29.2 million) loan from the International Development Association (IDA), part of the World Bank group, to finance the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines and make the immunization process go more smoothly, the government announced.
The funds will also be used for the investments in cold chain systems, development of health information systems, medical waste management, as well as for technical assistance to strengthen the capacity to implement the vaccination process, the government said in a press release on Thursday.
Moldova will be able to purchase vaccines from various sources, including directly from manufacturers or through the COVAX platform and from other states that have additional stocks of vaccines, taking into account the quality-price ratio, regulatory standards, capacity of the national immunization system, as well as the delivery time.
The framework financing agreement for the loan was signed by president Maia Sandu on August 9. The deadline for implementation of the agreement is April 30, 2023.
On September 15, the European Commission approved a 36 million euro non-reimbursable financing to support Moldova's post-coronavirus economic recovery. The grant represents the first installment of a three-year Economic Recovery Plan worth 600 million euro approved in June.
On September 10, Moldova declared a state of nationwide state of healthcare emergency until the end of October in order to contain a surge in coronavirus infections. During this time, people will be able to attend indoor and outdoor mass events only after proving that they have not been infected with Covid-19.
On Thursday, Moldova, population 2.6 million, reported 1,289 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 279,143. Out of the total new infections, 1,057 were contracted by non-vaccinated people.
So far, 746,866 people have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, health ministry data showed.
($=0.8489 euro)