Additional Financing to Support to COVID-19 Vaccine Purchase and Health System Strengthening

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The proposed AF will form part of an expanded health response to the pandemic. The activities will build on COVID-19 MPA-Program Vaccine Purchase and Health System Strengthening Project, as well as on the Bank’s existing health portfolio in the country, including the COMPASS project (P166013) the Women Empowerment project (P174887) under development, and the inter-islands connectivity infrastructure project (P173114). Component 1: Vaccines and related supplies provision and deployment (US$1 million)Under this component, the AF will finance purchase of booster vaccines and deployment costs to achieve up to 60% coverage of the population. This component will provide funding for (i) additional recruitment and deployment of vaccination teams; (ii) additional cold chain equipment for health facilities, and (iii) additional support to COVID response by improving the availability of oxygen in facilities managing severe COVID cases.Component 2: Health system strengthening for a stronger COVID-19 response (US$24 million)Under this component, the AF will finance activities related to health system strengthening, including technical assistance to the El Maarouf hospital and other referral hospitals. This will include: (i) institutional strengthening for MOH to support implementation of activities; (ii) strengthening the capacity of the national pharmaceutical office (OCOPHARMA) to manage the additional logistics associated with health emergencies associated with the COVID pandemic; (iii) strengthening the capacity of regional hospitals to better play their role as COVID-19 treatment centers; (iv) support to the strengthening of the health information system; and (v) co-financing of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) to get baseline data for the project’s monitoring. This AF will provide funding to the El Maarouf hospital to ensure an efficient and functional hospital is put in place after the construction phase. The support will allow the government to optimize the hospital size and structure to reduce overall investment costs and to manage future operational costs.Component 3: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC).