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  • Publication
    Remarks at the Western and Central Africa Regional Media Roundtable
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-05-20) Malpass, David
    World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has taken a toll on African lives, economies, and livelihoods. The World Bank intends to invest and mobilize about $150 billion over the next five years in Africa to support the continent’s recovery from the pandemic and its long-term development. He urged countries that expect to have excess vaccine supplies to release their excess as soon as possible to developing countries that have delivery programs in place. He emphasized the need for greater transparency in contracts between governments, pharmaceutical companies, and organizations that are involved in vaccine production and delivery so that financing can be directed effectively, and countries can plan for receipt and deployment. The World Bank yesterday launched a comprehensive online portal that provides easy access to information about their projects, including individual country-financing operations. He spoke about comprehensive debt solutions which will involve at least four elements: debt suspension, debt reduction, debt resolution, and debt transparency. He stated that without private creditors fully onboard, the Common Framework will not deliver a sustainable solution for Chad, Ethiopia, or Zambia. As countries work to recover, tackling climate change will be key for the region. The Bank is also working to address fragility, conflict, and violence. He concluded that while we know that the road to recovery will be long, countries in the region have applied lessons from previous crisis such as the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014, and many countries have strengthened their social safety nets to help protect the poor that have been most affected by the crisis, and to move faster on key reforms and investments that will be crucial for long-term development.
  • Publication
    Remarks at the Virtual Meeting on the Africa COVID-19 Vaccine Financing and Deployment Strategy
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01-27) Malpass, David
    World Bank Group President David Malpass provided an update on the World Bank Group’s vaccination efforts. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a heavy toll on the people of Africa in terms of lives lost and the severe economic impact that is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. The Group is preparing emergency vaccine financing projects in twenty-one countries in Africa. He highlighted IFC work to mobilize financing for vaccine production and therapeutics focused on developing countries. In implementing the vaccines programs, the World Bank Group is working directly with governments, including finance for their purchases from vaccine manufacturers and via COVAX, and for deployment efforts working with partners such as WHO and UNICEF. He urged the leaders of African countries to move quickly to secure vaccinations for their populations, and to avail themselves of the financing available from the World Bank Group and other partners to help with this.