Due to a rise of social security expenditures, budget requests from government ministries and agencies reach 111 trillion yen ($1 trillion) in total for fiscal 2022. Social security costs accounted for one-third of government expenditures. The health ministry...
Nepal amends annual budget plan 2021/22. Following the revisions, an additional Rs 5 billion has been allocated for Covid-19 vaccine purchasing. For social security provisions, there have been added two new allowances: Rs 3,000 per month for families...
On the 12th of August, 2021 Botswana received a shipment of 108,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine which the country ordered through the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT). Vice President of the Republic of Botswana, His Honour Slumber...
As most African countries struggle to procure enough vaccines in the global scramble for vaccines, Botswana’s health minister Edwin Dikoloti (30th of July, 2021) said that the government was paying the equivalent of $15 a dose for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by...
President Sahlework Zewde met with UN’s Assistant Secretary-General and WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, in Addis Ababa where they discussed the status of Universal Health (UHC) coverage in Ethiopia. Read more here.
In Australia, the COVID-19 vaccine has become compulsory for all teachers in New South Wales from November onwards. Teaching staffs are the latest cohort of workers to be included in the state’s mandatory vaccination, aiming to curb a rise of Delta variant. They...
Bhutan considers a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccines next year due to Delta variant concerns. Bhutan has achieved full vaccination for over 95 percent of the population aged 18 years or over. Currently, Bhutan starts inoculating children aged between 12 to...
Indonesia has administered 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Over 23% of the Indonesian population have received at least their first dose, while about 13% are fully vaccinated. According to Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, Indonesia has been ranked as the...
In Brunei, COVID-19 vaccines have been administered with at least one dose, accounting for 51.1 percent of the country’s population or 231,613 individuals while 21.2 percent or 96,212 people have completed the inoculation. The Brunei government officially...
Bangladesh has push efforts to inoculate teachers, support staff in schools and colleges as well as their families, aiming to resume physical classes in educational institutions in the coming weeks. To curb the pandemic, the Bangladesh government is taking steps to...
Sri Lanka plans to inoculate people aged between 20 and 30 years or 3.5 million people at district level. Eight million doses of vaccine which are expected to arrive in September will be used for the inoculation. Currently, prioritization is given to people in this...
Malaysia now considers giving booster Covid-19 vaccine shots due to the fast-spreading delta variant. An expert committee has been set up to conduct the need assessment for a third shot and the recommendation is expected to be given by the end of September. 46% of...
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) announced a health benefits package to cover home isolation of mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients. The COVID-19 Home Isolation Benefit Package (CHIBP) can help free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients...
In Thailand, the National Health Security Board has approved new benefits packages under the Universal Coverage Scheme that consist of COVID-19 vaccines, medicines, test kits, and medical supplies. The new benefits packages enable the National...
The Kingdom of Eswatini’s response to COVID-19 got a boost following the approval of US$5 million loan in additional financing on the 16th of April, 2021. The added funds were expected to assist the Government of Eswatini accelerate its ongoing efforts to purchase and...
