World Bank says to commit $2 billion to vaccines in developing countries by end-April

FILE PHOTO: A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund - World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank Group will have committed $2 billion in financing by the end of April for COVID-19 vaccines in some 40 developing countries, World Bank Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg said on Friday.

The $2 billion is part of a pool of some $12 billion that the World Bank has made available overall for vaccine development, distribution and production in low-and middle-income countries, van Trotsenburg told a World Bank forum.