The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $1.5 billion loan to help the Government of India purchase safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to cofinance an additional $500 million for the project.

The loans will fund at least 667 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for an estimated 317 million people. It will support India’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan which aims to fully vaccinate 944.7 million people aged 18 years old and above, accounting for 68.9% of the population. Priority groups include health care and frontline workers, senior citizens, and those aged 45–59 years with comorbidities.

An ongoing ADB technical assistance grant of $4 million, which includes $2 million support from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, is helping strengthen India’s vaccine delivery system.

This includes improving the monitoring of biomedical waste management, risk communication, and community engagement to raise awareness on COVID-19-appropriate behavior and the benefits of vaccination, with a focus on women and vulnerable groups. This support is being provided in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

The project is financed through ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility launched in December 2020 to provide rapid and equitable vaccine-related support to ADB developing member countries.