IFC to provide $4bn to boost healthcare supplies in developing countries
The IFC will contribute $2 billion from its own account while mobilising an additional $2 billion from private-sector partners
International Financial Corporation (IFC) launched a financing platform to provide $4-billion to help developing countries fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Global Health Platform will help provide more masks, ventilators, test kits, and potential vaccines to those countries.
The IFC will contribute $2 billion from its own account while mobilising an additional $2 billion from private-sector partners.
"As the pandemic surges in developing countries, access to critical healthcare supplies and services is becoming increasingly constrained," said Stephanie von Friedeburg, chief operating officer of IFC.
"IFC's new platform will provide a lifeline to these countries while helping them build the foundations for more resilient healthcare systems," she added.
According to a report of IFC, the financing will be offered to both existing and new IFC clients, mostly in developing countries.
To ensure the platform benefits developing countries, companies based in developed countries that receive funding must commit a share of their supply to developing countries, said the report.
IFC estimation says more than $60 billion would be required to expand supply to meet the surge in demand of health care products around the world triggered by the pandemic.
