ADB approves $500 mln for Pakistan’s COVID-19 health, economic response

This file photo shows the logo of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) displayed outside its headquarters in Manila on Sept. 2, 2010. (AFP)

• The loan will support various government initiatives, including cash assistance payments to 3 million daily wage workers
• It will also help fund the acquisition of additional ventilators and COVID-19 protective kits for medical staff

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to help Pakistan’s immediate efforts to mitigate the significant negative health, social, and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement issued by the ADB on Wednesday.
The global pandemic is expected to lead to a sharp decline in growth, revenue collection, and significant job losses in Pakistan.
The bank’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program aims to help Pakistan “deliver social protection programs to the poor and vulnerable, expand health sector capabilities, and deliver a pro-poor fiscal stimulus to boost growth and create jobs as the country fights the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic,” the statement read.
The loan will support various government initiatives, including “cash assistance payments to 3 million daily wage workers, of whom approximately 23% are women, and cash grants to 7.5 million families under the Kifalat social protection program.”
ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said, “This loan will help plug selected funding gaps as the government implements its counter-cyclical development plan, including strengthening the country’s social safety net and health sector capacity.”
The country’s health response is hampered by a low number of health workers relative to the population and inadequate availability of hospital beds.
“The program will also help fund the acquisition of additional ventilators and COVID-19 protective kits for medical staff, including appropriately sized personal protective equipment for women.”
“To prevent job losses, the loan will support young entrepreneurs, including at least 25% women, through the government’s youth entrepreneur scheme, Kamyab Jawan,” the statement added.
Earlier on May 19, the ADB also approved a $300 million emergency assistance loan to strengthen Pakistan’s public health response to the pandemic and help meet the basic needs of vulnerable and poor segments of society.