$25 Million ADB Grant to Procure COVID-19 Vaccines for Tajikistan
DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN (16 June 2021) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $25 million grant to help the Government of Tajikistan procure and deploy coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and strengthen the country’s capacity to implement its vaccination program.

“COVID-19 vaccines save lives and are vital to accelerating the economic recovery in Tajikistan and elsewhere,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “Through this project, and by working in close cooperation with Tajikistan’s development partners, ADB reaffirms its commitment to helping the country overcome the pandemic and restore normal life as soon as possible.”

The project will support the implementation of Tajikistan’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 vaccines. It will finance the procurement and delivery of around 3 million doses of vaccine with safety boxes and syringes for over 1.3 million people from priority groups, or about 14% of the population. The government is aiming to vaccinate around 62.5% of the total population, all those over 18 years old.

The project will also finance international and national logistics to transport vaccines from their place of purchase to national, regional, and district health facilities. ADB will engage the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as the procurement agent under a turnkey contract.

The project will strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population to effectively manage the vaccination program and conduct gender- and age-sensitive outreach campaigns and trainings. These activities will be coordinated with the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program (CAREC) to ensure information and knowledge is shared with other member countries.