Christ Yoder
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ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Pakistani government on Friday signed an agreement for a $ 300 million “emergency aid loan” initially approved by the bank on May 19.
Division of Economic Affairs Secretary Noor Ahmed and AfDB Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang signed the loan agreement, which officials said would strengthen Pakistan’s public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic and would help meet the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable.
Poverty Reduction and Social Security Division Secretary Yousuf Khan and National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) Managing Director Nadeem Ahmed signed the project documents on the occasion.
“AfDB aid signed today will support Pakistan’s social protection program, Ehsaas, to continue providing emergency cash transfers to poor families and women,” Yang said. “The project will also help to rapidly modernize medical facilities and provide necessary supplies to hospitals and frontline health workers, meet rapid training and capacity building needs, and purchase emergency vehicles for strengthen rescue capacities in remote border areas. “
In April, the AfDB reallocated $ 30 million from the National Disaster Risk Management Project to support Pakistan’s response to the pandemic and the NDRMF Board of Directors allocated an additional $ 20 million from interest income from the endowment fund capitalized under the project.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian government has also provided a grant of $ 5.28 million to strengthen the emergency response system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province amid the Covid-19 crisis.
