Belize to benefit from IDB vaccination liability protection

Published by BBN Staff at March 13, 2021

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Posted: Saturday, March 13, 2021. 11:18 am CST.

By Ruben Morales Iglesias: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said Belize will benefit from an instrument it has developed to provide Covid-19 vaccination liability protection to Latin America and Caribbean governments and to the pharmaceutical companies that produce the vaccines.

IDB President, Mauricio Claver-Carone, said Thursday that while countries are trying to get vaccines to protect their populations, a number of governments are concerned that they will be exposed to liability upon agreeing to indemnity clauses sought by pharmaceutical companies.

The IDB’s solution is a $1 billion vaccination financing program that will limit the exposure of governments and pharmaceutical companies as immunization rolls off by removing barriers to vaccination. Latin America and the Caribbean represent less than 10 percent of the world’s population, but more than 25 percent of Covid-19 deaths have occurred here.

Belize plus eight other countries that have committed to the vaccination finance and logistics program. The other countries are Argentina, Bahamas, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“What we have done is to identify the financial barriers to create an innovative financial instrument to help the region. It is the first guarantee instrument of its kind ever created, guaranteeing terms and conditions, as well as contingencies and liabilities for countries and pharmaceutical companies,” Claver-Carone said in a press conference.

He added that the program will speed up the region’s immunization drive.

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