The World Bank will provide Ukraine with about UAH 2.5 billion to purchase a vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, Deputy Health Minister Svitlana Shatalova said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
“Ukraine will receive funds for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19. Such assistance is provided by the World Bank. About UAH 2.5 billion is planned to be allocated for the new Ukraine Emergency COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Project,” she said.
“Relevant negotiations are being held between the Board of Directors of the World Bank and the government of Ukraine since December 2020. As part of the preparation of the project, the implemented vaccination strategy will be taken into account,” Shatalova said.
Ukraine is holding negotiations with China on the delivery of a coronavirus vaccine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“[China says] that they stand ready to supply it. The Health Ministry has concrete information, and we are helping them now in order to facilitate certain contacts between representatives of the Health Ministry and representatives of the [vaccine] producer,” Kuleba told the Ukraine 24 TV channel on Thursday.
The test systems that are used in Ukraine can detect a mutated strain of coronavirus, which was recorded in the UK, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov told reporters on Thursday.
“The complexity of the situation with the mutated strain of coronavirus in the UK is that, according to preliminary data, it is 70% more infectious. At the same time, they have no evidence that it causes more complications, more severe disease or increased mortality. We increased control. Our test systems are able to detect this strain,” he said.
The minister noted that no cases of the mutated strain of coronavirus have been registered in Ukraine yet.
“We have a small number of flights from the UK. Basically, our citizens, who work there or study, come. We do not consider it necessary to close air traffic and then send planes to pick up our citizens,” Stepanov added.
Ukraine has received from the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 100,000 kits for rapid testing for COVID-19 IgM/IgG and 200,000 protective masks as part of agreements on medical care, the website of the President of Ukraine said on Wednesday.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Yulia Sokolovska, at a meeting with the wife of the UAE Ambassador, Mrs. Al-Kaabe, thanked the UAE for its support in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and said that the tests and personal protective equipment received will be transferred to the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, which will be distributed to them by regions.
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President also congratulated the UAE Embassy in Ukraine on the occasion of the UAE National Day, which is celebrated on December 2.
The Verkhovna Rada’s National Health Committee has recommended that parliament support a bill that makes it possible to shorten the approval period for clinical trials and registration of vaccines and drugs against coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“The profile committee recommended the Verkhovna Rada to support bill No. 4314. It makes it possible to shorten the approval period for clinical trials and registration of vaccines and drugs against COVID-19,” the Servant of the People party said on Facebook on Wednesday, December 2.
According to the head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance Mykhailo Radutsky, the adoption of bill No. 4314 will reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
“Vaccination of a large number of patients will reduce the burden on the health care system of Ukraine,” Radutsky said.
“And thanks to the bill, this will become possible. After all, the involvement of Ukraine in clinical trials of vaccines would allow to vaccinate part of the population already now. Likewise, reducing the time for state registration of vaccines will speed up their full-scale use,” the Servant of the People said.
Ukraine is exploring the possibility of using financial instruments of the UK Export Finance (UKEF) to purchase British tests and vaccines to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“We are currently discussing the implementation of a joint project for the development of the Ukrainian fleet and related infrastructure. We are also exploring the possibility of using UKEF financial instruments to purchase British tests and vaccines in the fight against coronavirus infection. Another area is the possibility of using these resources for the construction of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm in Zaporizhia region (Zofia project),” the minister told Interfax-Ukraine, answering a question about the interest of Ukrainian-British projects in cooperation with UKEF.
Kuleba said that within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation between UK Export Finance and the Cabinet of Ministers signed on October 8, 2020, five priority areas have been identified: security and defense, infrastructure, agriculture, energy and healthcare. However, he said, collaboration is not limited to these industries.
“On December 10, representatives of the agency will hold a presentation of the available financing instruments and opportunities for cooperation with Ukrainian partners in the framework of the Ukrainian Investment Roadshow,” Kuleba said.
As Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain Vadym Prystaiko said during an online briefing for Ukrainian exporters “Bilateral Trade between Ukraine and Great Britain after Brexit”, the mechanism of the UK Export will allow access to concessional lending at 2.5-4%.
“This is a GBP 2.5 billion loan agreement that allows access to concessional lending at 2.5-4% depending on the terms of the contract,” Prystaiko said at an online briefing organized by the Ukrainian Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Council of Exporters and Investors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. At the same time, the share of the British partner in such projects should be 20%, Prystaiko said.
He also said that although we are talking about imports, Ukrainian exporters will thus be able to obtain certain services, technologies or raw materials.
