Sri Lanka's anti-Covid-19 efforts, including immunization, diagnostics, and oxygen, are projected to cost 550 million US dollars, with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank funding more than 80 percent of the cost, according to President's Secretary P B Jayasundera.
When then-finance minister Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed the 2021 budget in November last year, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's administration did not budget for Covid-19 control measures.
After keeping infections under control as Europe and the United States accelerated vaccine production, the island nation was forced to hurry for immunizations this year when Coronavirus illnesses spiked after April.
Sri Lanka received its first vaccination shipment only in the last week of January this year, when India began production.
Jayasundera, the country's senior civil officer and former finance secretary who still has sway over all economic policy, stated that the country has received loans ranging from $400 to 450 million US dollars from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
“Vaccination, antigen, PCR, and all other oxygen requirements, I believe it will cost between $500 and 550 million US dollars.”
The World Bank reported that it has provided 217.56 million US dollars to fund Covid-19 control measures, while the Asian Development Bank offered 150 million US dollars for vaccination in Sri Lanka.
The government has also borne the costs of PCR testing, quarantine centers, and critical patients in state-run hospitals' intensive care units. In addition, the ICU and High Density Care units have been expanded.
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