Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Wednesday that the World Bank will provide assistance to Bangladesh in developing a coronavirus vaccine.

“We have held meetings with high-level officials of the World Bank. The officials of the World Bank office in Bangladesh were also present. The delegation welcomed our initiative to develop a Covid-19 vaccine," he said after a meeting with the World Bank delegation at the Secretariat on Wednesday .

The minister said that Bangladesh also received a financing commitment.

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Bangladesh has received a commitment of $300 million from Asian Development Bank to build a vaccine manufacturing plant in the country.

“We'll ask for more, if necessary. The government will also fund it. We have bought the land and the rest of the work is going on,” the minister said. ”We have prepared the DDP (Development Project Proposal) and will take it to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval.”

The World Bank has pledged more assistance to the host communities in Bangladesh who are currently hosting the Rohingya refugees. 

The minister also said that $27 billion will be needed in five years to make the vaccine.

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“Of this, the Government of Bangladesh will arrange $22 billion. We need $5 billion in multisectoral funding.”

“They already committed $2- 2.5 billion. They will gradually manage the rest over the next five years,” Zahid Maleque said.