ADB to provide Pakistan $50mn to fight against COVID-19
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Wednesday that it would provide Pakistan with $50 million in funds on an immediate basis to counter the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, according to media sources.
The kit will be issued to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as per specifics, and will be used to halt the spread of the mysterious virus.
In addition, the ADB also announced an initial $6.5 billion package to meet the urgent needs of its developing member countries (DMCs), as they respond to the latest coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
“This pandemic has become a major global crisis. It requires forceful action at national, regional, and global levels,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.
“With our developing member countries, we are formulating an aggressive set of actions to combat the pandemic; to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across the region; and to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible.”
“Based on close dialogue with our members and peer institutions, we are deploying this $6.5 billion rescue package to meet the immediate needs of our members,” he added.
Mr. Asakawa stressed that “ADB stands ready to provide further financial assistance and policy advice down the road whenever the situation warrants, on top of the $6.5 billion package.”
The initial package contains roughly $3.6 billion in sovereign operations for a variety of responses to the pandemic’s health and economic effects, and $1.6 billion in non-sovereign operations for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, domestic and regional trade, and companies directly affected.
ADB will also mobilize approximately $1 billion in concessional capital by reallocations from existing ventures and assessment of future contingency needs.
The bank will make technical assistance and quick-disbursing grants of $40 million available.
Overall, 158 countries have been affected, more than 7,000 people have died and more than 184,000 have been diagnosed with the disease known as’ COVID-19′ as it spreads rapidly to new areas.
The outbreak’s epicenter has now moved to Europe, reporting a rapid increase every day in new cases.
