Bangladesh needs more than Taka 14,000 crore or 1.56 billion US dollar for free vaccination of the 16.50 crore people as the government earning is yet pick up due to coronavirus pandemic.
Finance Division has feared that there may be crisis of funds for that matter despite the budget allocation of Taka 10,000 crore this fiscal year, said an official of Finance Division.
Finance ministry has allocated Taka 11,132.84 crore for Covid-19 pandemic including vaccination in 2020-21 fiscal year. Of the amount, Taka 10,000 crore goes to vaccination of country’s citizens, Taka 500 crore to compensate deaths of coronavirus crusaders, Taka 100 crore for extra allowances for doctor and nurses and rest of Taka 532.84 crore for Covid-19 patients related expenses.
A finance ministry official said Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is yet to seek funds to buy vaccines for aboard.
They although had recently asked the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to explore the possible sources of funds--- the multilateral and bilateral development partners.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh government last week signed an MOU with Pune-based SII and Beximco Pharmaceuticals to procure 3 crore doses of Covishield. The vaccine is being developed by the University of Oxford in collaboration with AstraZeneca and Serum Institute of India. After the vaccine is developed, the Serum Institute will provide 3 crore doses in the first phase, and BPL will bring it to Bangladesh. Including the cost of the delivery will cost 5 US dollars per dose 425 in local currency.
In the press conference Health Minister Zahid Malik said, “We can’t clearly estimate how much funds to be needed to procure Covid-19 vaccine for Bangladesh.”
He further said, “Once the vaccine is developed, the Serum Institute will provide three crore doses in the first phase, and Bexmico Pharmaceuticals Limited (BPL) will bring it to Bangladesh.”
“We would be able to provide the vaccine to 1.5 crore people once it’s available in Bangladesh as two shots of vaccine is needed for one person in the first phase,” he said.
The process to bring Oxford/Astrazeneca Vaccine will start in January next, said Zahid.
While talking to The Business Post over phone, health minister said, “We have Taka 10 ,000 crore in our hands and whatever the procurement process demands the government will spend for the vaccine. If it needs more, the government will allocate more.”
“In the first phase of procurement of vaccine from aboard, a payment process is underway.”
According to National Board of Revenue sources, the NBR has collected to Taka 48,017 crore from customs, VAT, and income tax during July-September 2020, up 0.67 percent over the same period of previous year.
This figure was Taka47,688 crore in the same period last year.
The income tax sector went up by 4.92 percent to Taka 15,373 crore in the first quarter in the fiscal year 2020-21 while the customs duties on imported and exported goods increased by 6.4 percent in the first three months of the current fiscal year.
However, revenue collection from the VAT sector decreased by 7.7 percent during the time.
The NBR was given a revenue target of Taka 330,000 crore in the current fiscal with a growth target of almost 33 percent compared to the last year.
According to the ERD, it would require nearly $500 million worth of funds in the first phase to vaccinate 3.5 crore people, who are on the priority list.
In the second phase, the country will need another $500 million to $1.0 billion worth of funds for immunising the remaining people in the country.
A Ministry of Health and Family Welfare official said the government is considering vaccinating people at free of cost.
The initiative would require more than $1.0 billion, he added.
The ministry official said it was assuming that there was a possibility of developing coronavirus vaccine later this year or early next year 2021.
A large number of countries and companies, including the USA, the UK, China, Germany, India, Russia and Bangladesh are working towards developing the vaccine against the Covid 19. Some of them have already started trials on humans last several months amid Covid-19 pandemic.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), in its "Fair allocation mechanism for Covid-19 vaccine through the COVAX facility" proposal, said that 20 per cent priority group of total population will get vaccine in the first phase.
Most of the priority groups, the healthcare professionals and other frontline workers, population beyond 65 years of age, people with co-morbidity are on the list of first priority.
Then the remaining 80 per cent of the total population would get the vaccine at free of cost in the second round.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal two months ago sought $500 million worth of assistance from the World Bank, to purchase, store, transport and distribute the vaccines.
The minister made the call at a virtual meeting with World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region Hartwig Schafer on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings 2020.
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