As Lebanon is experiencing a surge in the epidemiological situation, President Michel Aoun signed a decree this afternoon transferring funds from the general budget reserve to the budget of the Ministry of Public Health amounting to 26.4 billion Lebanese pounds.
This is the second payment from the contract signed last October with the "Covax" platform affiliated with the World Health Organization, aimed at reserving 2,730,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from global manufacturers. The vaccines financed through this decree will be added to those from Pfizer, for which the World Bank approved funding for 1.5 million doses. This will allow the Ministry of Health to obtain 2,730,000 vaccines from the Covax platform in addition to the Pfizer vaccines.
On another note, President Aoun also signed an extraordinary approval to provide the High Relief Committee with a treasury advance of 50 billion Lebanese pounds to distribute restoration assistance to those affected by the Beirut port explosion, which will be issued by the Prime Minister's office later according to regulations. This amount of 50 billion pounds is in addition to the previous allocation of 100 billion pounds designated by the President for the same purpose.
