Additional Financing for the Burkina Faso COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project

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The Additional Financing (AF) in the amount of US$ 48.3 million equivalent IDA and US$ 13 million equivalent grant from Global Financing Facility (GFF) will support the costs of expanding activities of the Burkina Faso COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project (P173858), in the amount of $21.15 million IDA that was approved on April 28, 2020 under the SPRP. The primary objectives of this AF are in line with the parent’s project PDO, which will remain unchanged. The purpose of the proposed AF is to provide upfront financing to help the Government of Burkina Faso (GoBF) purchase and deploy COVID-19 vaccines that meet Bank’s vaccine approval criteria, strengthen relevant health systems that are necessary for successful deployment, and ensure the continuity of essential health services (EHS). In line with the country’s National Vaccine Deployment Plan, the proposed additional financing will support the GoBF to fully vaccinate 40 percent of the country’s population (85 percent of the country’s adult population) by: (i) funding the acquisition and deployment of vaccines doses through the African Union African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) (up to 5.7 million J&J doses, to cover 19.1 percent of the country’s population); and (ii) financing the deployment of vaccines subsidized through the COVAX mechanism , which will cover at least an additional 20 percent of the country’s total population.In summary , the AF will include adjustment to the components content and costs. In the component 1 of the parent project the AF will include the following changes : 1- New Sub-Component 1.6. Vaccine Purchase and Deployment: This new sub-component will enable the acquisition of equipment and supplies directly linked to the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. This includes vaccine purchase, cold chain equipment , and consumables. Moreover, this sub-component will finance the operational costs of the deployment efforts (e.g., service delivery and human resources) as well as to provide TA to strengthen vaccine planning and management. This subcomponent will be entirely financed through the AF with an additional allocation of US$45.3 million IDA. 2- Additional activities under Sub-Component 1.3. Health System Strengthening: Additional funds (US$12 million GFF Grant) will be allocated to this component to implement activities related to the strengthening of the PHC and service delivery system to ensure access to essential community-based and facility services. 3- Additional activities under Sub-Component 1.4. Communication and Community Engagement: Additional funds (US$2.0 million IDA) will be allocated to this component to implement communication campaigns related to the vaccination campaign and to address vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.The Component 2 will be revised to reflect the expanded scope. Additional funds (US$1.0 million IDA and US$1.0 million GFF grant) will be allocated to this component to strengthen project management and to support M&E functions.