The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) today launched its first vaccine financing under its COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility (CRF) to respond to its members’ urgent needs for access to vaccines. The financing forms part of the coordinated action by multilateral development banks to contain the pandemic and enable sustainable economic recovery through vaccine procurement and rollout. Working with co-financing partners, AIIB is prioritizing requests from its low-and middle-income members.
AIIB’s Board of Directors has approved the Bank’s first vaccine financing project, a loan of USD300 million to support the Republic of the Philippines in the rapid procurement of eligible COVID-19 vaccines.
“AIIB’s vaccine financing will adhere to international standards for safety, equity and quality in support of our members in their vaccine rollout,” said AIIB Vice President, Policy and Strategy, Joachim von Amsberg. “The project is consistent with AIIB’s mission to promote regional cooperation and partnership in addressing development challenges by working in close collaboration with other multilateral and bilateral development institutions,” he added.
AIIB’s loan to the Philippines, cofinanced with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), supports the country’s Second Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit COVID-19 under the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility Project (HEAL 2). It will support the Philippines government in providing vaccines for approximately 50 million people—43.8 percent of the population.
“The project aligns with AIIB’s commitment to support its members in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. It constitutes a critical element of the Philippines' public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing timely access to eligible vaccines that would help accelerate economic and social recovery in the country,” said AIIB Vice President, Investment Operations, D.J. Pandian.
The financing is the second loan extended to the Philippines under the CRF, along with the first one approved for the Philippines COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program, for a total of USD1.05 billion in support.
AIIB’s CRF provides up to USD13 billion of financing to both public and private-sector entities facing serious adverse impacts as a result of the pandemic. To date, AIIB’s portfolio under the CRF comprises a total of 30 projects amounting to over USD7.8 billion to support 20 members in containing the pandemic and enabling sustainable economic recovery.
About AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is financing the Infrastructure for Tomorrow—infrastructure with sustainability at its core. We began operations in Beijing in January 2016 and have since grown to 103 approved members worldwide. We are capitalized at USD100 billion and Triple-A-rated by the major international credit rating agencies. Working with partners, AIIB meets clients’ needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity.
