ADB approves USD 2 million grant to Pakistan to combat coronavirus

The Asian Development Bank on Monday approved a USD 2 million grant to boost Pakistan's capacity to respond to the coronavirus pandemic as the number of confirmed cases rose sharply in the past two days in the country, according to a media report.

The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan reached 1,664 while the death toll stood at 21, health officials said on Monday, underlining that local transmission of the deadly COVID-19 is increasing.

"The ADB recognises 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.

The Express Tribune reported that 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.

This grant will help strengthen COVID-19 detection, improve infection prevention and control, and boost Pakistan's capacity to respond to the pandemic, the top ADB official said.

The 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, the paper said.

Given the urgency of the required support, the 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 USD 3.7 billion additional financing from three multilateral creditors, including a loan of USD 1.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cope with the challenges being posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank committed to providing USD 588 million to Pakistan for its emergency response to fight the coronavirus and to address the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.