World Bank threatens to suspend vaccine funding to Lebanon 

The World Bank has warned the Lebanese authorities that it would suspend funding for the vaccines if they violate the terms of the agreement reached between the two institutions. The threat came after it emerged that several MPs had received the first doses without prior authorisation. 

The parliament's secretary general, Adnan Daher, acknowledged that 16 lawmakers received the vaccine in parliament, in the presence of a team from the Ministry of Public Health and the Lebanese Red Cross. Daher explained that these parliamentarians had already registered for the vaccination on the official platform and that their turn had come, state news agency NNA reported. 

However, those vaccinated eventually included 12 MPs, 6 employees of the House of Representatives and 3 members of the Red Cross. The head of Lebanon's COVID-19 vaccination scheme, Dr Abdul Rahman Bizri, publicly admitted that he did not know that vaccines would be sent to Parliament. "What happened today is unacceptable," he said. Minutes later, outrage spread across the country. 

The WB released a total of 28 million euros to Lebanon in February to allow the vaccination plan to begin. In the first batch, 60,000 doses arrived from Pfizer-BioNTech, intended to immunise 2 million people. The government then launched an online registration process to ensure a transparent process, adding that healthcare workers, the elderly and chronically ill would be included in the first vaccination group.  

The World Bank itself and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have signed an agreement for independent monitoring of the vaccination campaign, given the decades of corruption and mismanagement that have brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy and financial collapse.

The president of the Lebanese Order of Doctors, Sharaf Abu Sharaf, said last week that there had been "many violations in the vaccination centres", all related to the immunisation of people who were not registered or even included in the first phase of the campaign. 

 WB regional director Saroj Kumar Ya said on 14 February, following the launch of the vaccination campaign, that "many have expressed concern about the possible violation of the criteria set for priority groups to be vaccinated next week. The Lebanese authorities have informed us that there are no such plans". 

However, after hearing the latest information Kumar Ya was blunt: "This is not in line with the national plan agreed with the World Bank, and we would register this as a breach of the terms and conditions agreed with us for fair and equitable vaccination." 

"Everyone has to register and wait their turn!" declared Kumar Ya, adding that, if the violations are confirmed, "the World Bank could suspend funding for vaccines and support for the COVID-19 response in Lebanon." 

"I ask everyone, and I mean everyone, regardless of their position, to register and wait their turn," he said. The World Bank's regional director himself added the hashtag #NoWasta to the message, a reference to the Middle Eastern concept of nepotism and corruption that is so prevalent in Lebanon. 

Many Lebanese personalities took to Twitter to support the hashtag. Writer Mohamed Dankar tweeted: "My government not only killed us on 4 August 2020, but is now giving the vaccine to MPs instead of the elderly in need", and singer Elissa condemned the authorities' behaviour: "Why is the House of Representatives above nature? It's a shame. 

The office of the Lebanese Presidency also confirmed that President Michel Aoun, his wife, and ten other advisors to the president had also received the vaccine. The agency indicated that the ten advisors "registered their names on the vaccination platform, according to procedures". It also announced that "COVID-19 infections have been previously registered among the ranks of the team working directly with the 86-year-old President Aoun". 

The Lebanese Ministry of Health recorded 2,723 new infections and 59 deaths during the last day. It said 2,147 people are currently hospitalised, including 918 in intensive care units and 298 on ventilators. The recent surge in infections has again overwhelmed the authorities, who are already struggling to cope with Lebanon's severe financial crisis. 

Lebanon is home to 6 million people, 1 million of whom are Syrian refugees. Since the start of the pandemic, the authorities have counted more than 359,000 cases and a total of 4,446 deaths. Suspending economic assistance would have serious implications for the cash-strapped government, which is facing an unprecedented crisis dependent on foreign aid.