PAKISTAN: The Asian Growth Financial institution (ADB) on Monday permitted one other $2 million grant to assist the federal government’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.
The brand new grant dietary supplements an preliminary $500,000 permitted by the financial institution on March 20 which is already being deployed to assist Pakistan’s procurement of emergency provides by Unicef, says the ADB in a press launch.
Taken collectively, this $2.5m in permitted funding represents ADB’s instant response for Pakistan, with additional assist to comply with.
The grant, financed from the Asia Pacific Catastrophe Response Fund, will assist fund the instant buy of emergency medical provides, private protecting tools, diagnostic and laboratory provides, and different tools.
“ADB recognises the extraordinary burden of this pandemic on Pakistan and is committed to supporting Pakistan in the fight to control Covid-19,” mentioned ADB Nation Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang. “This grant will help strengthen Covid-19 detection, improve infection prevention and control, and boost Pakistan’s capacity to respond to the pandemic,” she mentioned.
ADB’s help echoes the World Well being Organisation’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan for Covid-19 and Pakistan’s Nationwide Motion Plan for Coronavirus Illness, which incorporates preventive measures, containment efforts, and remedy of contaminated individuals. Given the urgency of the required assist, the ADB will use essentially the most versatile and expeditious approaches to facilitate procurement of the required medical provides and tools.
Printed in Daybreak, March 31st, 2020
