South Asian countries are estimated to spend 0.5 percent of GDP on COVID vaccines

KATHMANDU: WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021 – A World Bank report estimates that 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) will be spent on vaccination programs against COVID-19 in nine South Asian countries. The World Bank’s recently released ‘South Asia Economic Focus 2021’ shows this.

The South Asian country’s vaccination program is also projected to be 0.55 percent more expensive than other continents. The report estimates that the sector’s economic growth rate will be 7.2 percent in 2021 and 4.4 percent in 2022. Last year and this year, Covid’s impact on the economy was 20 percent. But in the previous year 2022, the impact is expected to decrease by 10 percentage points to only 10 percent.

The epidemic is expected to reduce per capita income in the region by 3.20 a day. According to the report, poverty in the region increased from 37 to 47 percent last year and will decrease to 37 to 42 percent in 2022.