Tension As World Bank Threatens Lebanon

<p>Tension as World Bank dangles embargo on Lebanon<br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that there is <strong>tension<&sol;strong> as World Bank has threatened to stop funding COVID-19 vaccines after reported violations by the government of Lebanon&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;According to available information to this online medium&comma; the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">World Bank<&sol;a> threatened to suspend financing for Lebanon’s COVID-19 vaccination drive in its second week after it emerged that some lawmakers would get their shots in parliament on Tuesday&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The comments from the World Bank came as frustration grew among some residents and doctors that vaccinations were moving slowly and could be riddled with violations&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Lebanon received its first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine &&num;8211&semi; about 28&comma;000 doses &&num;8211&semi; this month with aid from the World Bank&comma; which said it would monitor to ensure the shots go to those most in need&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;In its first operation funding the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines&comma; the World Bank reallocated &dollar;34 million to help Lebanon start vaccinations&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The bank has warned against favoritism in a country where decades of state waste and corruption triggered a dire financial meltdown&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;After local media reported that some MPs would get their COVID-19 shots on Tuesday&comma; the World Bank’s regional director&comma; Saroj Kumar Jha&comma; said that would breach the national plan agreed for fair vaccination&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Upon confirmation of violation&comma; World Bank may suspend financing for vaccines and support for COVID19 response across Lebanon&excl;&excl;” he wrote on Twitter&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I appeal to all&comma; I mean all&comma; regardless of your position&comma; to please register and wait for your turn&period;”<br &sol;>&NewLine;The health ministry has sought to dispel fears that politicians would jump the queue&period; It did not immediately respond to a request for comment&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;An MP said current and retired lawmakers over 75-years-old&comma; as well as some administrative staff&comma; were getting vaccinated in the parliament hall&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What’s the big deal&quest; They’re over 75 and registered&comma;” he said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Charaf Abou Charaf&comma; head of Lebanon’s doctors syndicate&comma; had urged more transparency earlier on Tuesday and said there were &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;many violations” without giving a figure&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;He said people who did not have priority or were not registered had received vaccines while some medical workers and elderly Lebanese still waited&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Hospitals&comma; hammered by Lebanon’s financial crisis and last year’s port explosion&comma; have fought some of the region’s highest infection rates since January&period; The surge took Lebanon’s death toll over 4&comma;300&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;