ADB approves $2m for Pakistan to combat COVID-19

Country director says ADB recognises the extraordinary burden of this pandemic on Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank on Monday approved a $2 million grant to support Pakistan’s efforts to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country.

The grant, financed from the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, will help fund the immediate purchase of emergency medical supplies, personal protective equipment, diagnostic and laboratory supplies, and other equipment.

“ADB recognizes the extraordinary burden of this pandemic on Pakistan and is committed to supporting Pakistan in the fight to control COVID-19”, said ADB Country 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.”

ADB’s assistance echoes the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 and Pakistan’s National Action Plan for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), which includes preventive measures, containment efforts, and treatment of infected persons. Given the urgency of the required support, ADB will use the most flexible and expeditious approaches to facilitate procurement of the required medical supplies and equipment.

Last week, Pakistan decided to seek $3.7 billion additional financing from three multilateral creditors including another loan of $1.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cope with the challenges being posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak.