World Bank Says Will Boost Financing for COVID-19 Vaccines to $20 Billion

World Bank President David Malpass attends the "1+6" Roundtable meeting at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing, China, on Nov. 21, 2019. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

WASHINGTON—The World Bank will boost its total financing for COVID-19 vaccine purchases and deployment to $20 billion from its previous target of $12 billion, World Bank President David Malpass said on Wednesday.

The global development bank has seen a sharp increase in overall financing demand from developing countries—not just health related expenditure—during the pandemic, the bank’s managing director for operations, Axel van Trotsenburg, said.

He told reporters the World Bank had made nearly $100 billion in lending commitments since the outbreak of the crisis in early 2020, well above the normal level of just under $60 billion. High demand for financing was expected to continue well into 2022, he said.