Philippines secures $ 100 million loan from World Bank for emergency response to Covid-19

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MANILA (Xinhua): The World Bank announced that it had approved a loan of US $ 100 million for the Philippines Emergency Response Project against Covid-19 to meet urgent health care needs .

In a statement released Thursday, April 23, the World Bank said the project, which will be implemented by the Department of Health (DOH), will help strengthen the essential health care delivery system for essential medical services facing to increased demand in the coming months.

“Strengthening the country’s capacity to respond to Covid-19 will save lives,” said Achim Fock, the World Bank’s acting country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

“The government has taken swift and decisive action in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and the World Bank is proud to support its efforts. Right now, no other investment offers a better return, ”added Fock.

The World Bank said the project will focus on providing personal protective equipment (PPE), medicines, medical supplies such as intensive care unit equipment, devices such as mechanical ventilators, laboratory equipment and test kits. In addition, the project will support the logistics and supply chains necessary to ensure that the equipment reaches frontline health facilities without delay.

The World Bank further stated that the project would also support the DOH in preparing guidelines on the standard design of hospital isolation and treatment centers to manage patients with severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), who will be used in healthcare facilities across the country to ensure standards and quality. of Covid-19 health services.

This project will also fund the expansion of the country’s laboratory capacity at national and subnational levels for prevention and preparedness against emerging infectious diseases, the bank added.

According to the World Bank, the project will support the modernization of the national reference laboratory, the Tropical Medicine Research Institute (RITM), as well as six subnational and public health laboratories in Baguio, Cebu, Davao and Manila, and will finance the construction and expanding laboratory capacity in priority regions that currently do not have such facilities.

The Philippines is one of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region hard hit by Covid-19.

The Covid-19 emergency response project is part of the World Bank Group fast-track program to strengthen the Covid-19 response in developing countries and shorten the recovery time.

On April 9, 2020, the Board of Directors of the World Bank approved funding of US $ 500 million to help strengthen the capacity of the Philippine government to face disaster risk, respond to and recover from natural disasters as well as to meet the urgent needs created by the Covid-19. crisis. – Xinhua

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