WHO official in Venezuela says country has till Feb 9 to pay for vaccines

Last month, Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies for the World Health Organization (PAHO), the regional arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Venezuela had expressed interest in joining COVAX, but that was not possible due to "a lack of resources and timely payments." Balladelli did not provide details about payment in his Twitter post.

The head of the PAHO-WHO mission in Venezuela said Tuesday the South American nation has reserved at least 1.4 million vaccines through the international COVAX system that are slated to arrive by the end of this month.

Paolo Balladelli said in a post on Twitter that payment for the vaccines, produced by Astrazeneca, must be made by Feb. 9. The COVAX mechanism, coordinated by WHO and the GAVI vaccines alliance to support poorer countries, is funded by donor countries, multilateral lenders such as the World Bank, and private charities.

Lawyers for Venezuela's central bank said the country had been unable to make payments required to participate in COVAX because sanctions have left funds frozen in foreign bank accounts. Last month, Ciro Ugarte, director of health emergencies for the World Health Organization (PAHO), the regional arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), said Venezuela had expressed interest in joining COVAX, but that was not possible due to "a lack of resources and timely payments."

Balladelli did not provide details about payment in his Twitter post. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said on various occasions the country will receive 10 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, but has not provided further details.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)