ADB approves another $2 million to help Asia Pacific tackle coronavirus

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a further two million dollars to help developing countries in Asia and the Pacific contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and improve resilience to this and other communicable diseases.

The funds will be available for all ADB developing member countries in updating and implementing their pandemic response plans including buying emergency supplies and equipment, assessing health system and economic impacts to improve future resilience, and coordinating better regionally to prevent, detect, and respond to animal and human disease outbreaks.

The work will be conducted in close collaboration with the World Health Organisation.

"The severity of the COVID-19 outbreak is escalating and past disease outbreaks have had large impacts on social and economic development," said ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono.

"ADB's funding will help countries catalyse efforts to mitigate further damage to the health of families and economies and position them to better respond to the current and future outbreaks," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Earlier in February, ADB provided two million dollars in funds to strengthen the immediate response capacity in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Over the longer term, this can be scaled up to focus on supporting pandemic preparedness and building resilience.

ADB also provided a private sector loan of up to 18.6 million dollars to Wuhan-based Jointown Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd to enhance the distribution and supply of essential medicines and protective equipment.

Past epidemics have shown that impacts can rapidly extend to all areas of a country's economy, triggering fiscal shocks with long-term negative consequences that threaten stability and economic growth. Countries and businesses that rely on tourism are particularly vulnerable.

Trade and supply chains also suffer, said ADB.

.