$1 billion - India gets lion’s share of World Bank’s COVID-19 fund
It is part of $1.9 billion fund WB has announced as emergency aid for 7 countries
It is part of $1.9 billion fund WB has announced as emergency aid for 7 countries
It is part of $1.9 billion fund WB has announced as emergency aid for 7 countries
It is part of $1.9 billion fund WB has announced as emergency aid for 7 countries
India has got the lion’s share of World Bank’s first dole out related to the COVID-19 pandemic--a whopping $1 billion. This is out of the total $1.9 billion it has announced as aid for 7 countries as emergency health support.
This is the biggest-ever single fund announcement in the health sector for India, which has historically been one of the World Bank’s biggest beneficiaries of financial support since the international organisation was established on the eve of India’s independence.
The money will be disbursed to three Indian government bodies--National Health Mission, National Centre for Disease Control and ICMR. The World Bank hopes the project will immediately enable these organisations to scale up efforts to limit human-to-human transmission, including reducing local transmission of cases and containing the epidemic from progressing further, according to a statement issued by the World Bank on Friday.
The money, which is to be distributed between all the states and Union Territories of the country, will be used for buying test kits, upgrading hospitals to deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases by preparing isolation wards and in purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and medicines.
"This operation is expected to enhance surveillance capacities, strengthen diagnostic systems, and expand the capacity of laboratories,” commented Junaid Ahmed, country director for World Bank in India, in a statement released Friday morning. He added, “In parallel, we are working with equal urgency with the government on social protection programmes and economic measures that protect the livelihoods of people.”
In total, the World Bank plans to roll out a $14-billion fast-track package as aid to world nations to deal with the pandemic. The first instalment announced on Friday comes to $1.9 billion dollars--besides India, the other main beneficiary is Pakistan, though much lower at $200 million. The remaining countries Ethiopia, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Yemen and Haiti have all got much smaller dole outs.