Does Bangladesh Have a Guaranteed Source of Money to Buy Vaccines

It has been reported that huge sums of money have not yet been secured for the purchase of the coronavirus vaccine for more than 160 million people in Bangladesh.

Officials said Bangladesh has sought financial assistance from various international organizations, including the World Bank.

The government is said to be in a race to buy the vaccine with its own money of Rs 1,500 crore.

However, experts believe that the agreement reached by Bangladesh to take 30 million doses of the lowest-priced Oxford vaccine in the world will cost a lot of money.

On the other hand, Pfizer or Modern Vaccine from the United States is not able to bring Bangladesh due to lack of storage and supply infrastructure and high cost.

1500 crore from the government

According to the information given by the officials, the dose of Oxford vaccine can be as low as five dollars for Bangladesh.

As a result, experts think that the government's Rs 1,500 crore is not enough to buy vaccines.

In such a context, it can be said that the government is relying on international organizations including the World Bank to raise huge sums of money.

Officials claim there has been a positive response to attempts to raise funds from foreign sources.

According to an official of the Economic Relations Department, Bangladesh has asked the World Bank for assistance of ৫০ 500 million, which is about Tk 4.5 billion. Other organizations have also been asked for financial assistance.

Health Ministry Secretary Md Abdul Mannan said various international organizations, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have taken up some projects in Bangladesh to combat the coronavirus.

He noted that the companies have responded positively to Bangladesh's offer to fund these vaccines by changing these projects.

"The government has provided Rs 1,500 crore from its own sources. Half of this money has already been allocated by the finance ministry. We have arranged it as booking money."

Mr Mannan said: "The World Bank has two projects related to Covid-19. The investment bank wanted to give us something including sanitizer, ICU, oxygen. The Asian Development Bank also has projects related to coronavirus. We have revised these projects and asked them to pay for vaccines. Together with these projects, we have about প্রায় 400 million (about three and a half billion rupees). "

The government has also said that Rs 10,000 crore has been allocated in the current budget for the coronavirus epidemic, which will be used for vaccines if necessary.

But experts are skeptical about the funding. An expert said on condition of anonymity that rich countries have already bought billions of doses of vaccine from Oxford and two US companies. Bangladesh is lagging behind in this competition. He thinks that it is necessary to confirm the money earlier, regardless of the source from home or abroad.

The expert added that the authorities should be aware of the allegations of mismanagement in controlling the epidemic in the country, now that there is no mismanagement or lack of coordination in bringing in vaccines and raising funds.

The Oxford vaccine is the only hope

On the other hand, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Bangladesh's Serum Institute of India and Bangladesh's Beximco for the Oxford vaccine is a visible step on the part of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is also relying on the World Health Organization's plan to allocate vaccines to 92 low-income countries.

Professor Shahidullah, head of the government's expert advisory committee, said the US Pfizer and Modern vaccines have advanced, but they do not think it is possible to bring them to Bangladesh.

"The challenge for Pfizer and the modern vaccine is twofold: first, they will sell in the United States for ৭ 36. Two doses will cost a lot more. Second, the modern vaccine must be stored at minus 20 and the Pfizer at minus 60 degrees in Bangladesh. There is no storage and supply system at this temperature. As a result, these two vaccines are a challenge to bring to Bangladesh."

Professor Nasreen Sultana, director of the Institute of Health Economics at Dhaka University, also thinks that vaccines from US companies are not suitable for Bangladesh.

Officials, however, say the government is not thinking about Pfizer and the modern vaccine.

Health Secretary Mohammad Abdul Mannan said talks were also under way to bring vaccines from Oxford to China and Russia.

"The memorandum of understanding with Oxford is a kind of progress that is in our hands. We have also discussed with them the issue of Russia's immunization."

He added: "We've talked to Chinese company Sinovac. Although they wanted to do a trial and they didn't, they're a little backfoot. We've talked to them yet. We've talked to another Chinese company. We're studying various issues."