Pakistan seeks $600 million aid to fight virus outbreak — minister

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Division is finalizing around $600 million emergency package with international financial institutions to deal with COVID-19 outbreak across the country, Hammad Azhar, Minister for Economic Affairs, announced on Thursday.
“It includes reallocations and fresh financing. This will be in addition to local funding that is being made available,” he said in a tweet.
The minister said that emergency funds of approximately Rs.7.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) backed National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) had been made available for the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
“This is in addition to the funds already made available by finance division for immediate use by authority. Reallocations from foreign funded projects also being diverted toward it,” he added.
World Bank and the ADB collectively pledged $588 million to help Pakistan fight the pandemic.
“Ministry of Planning cleared an amount of $238 million from World Bank funding and endorsed another $350 million funding offered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in support for the COVID-19 emergency response and to address the socio-economic disruption associated with it”, a statement issued by the ministry on Wednesday said.
Funds will be utilized for the establishment of isolation centers across Pakistan and purchase of additional equipment needed to fight the pandemic.
“We are working with government of Pakistan on that (funding) and decision would be announced next week”, Mariam Altaf, spokesperson of World Bank told Arab News on Thursday.
Total number of confirmed virus cases in Pakistan jumped to 384 on Thursday with two reported deaths.
The country’s southern Sindh province is the worst hit due to large number of Pakistani pilgrims returning from Iran. Tehran has reported 18,407 cases of so far with 149 new deaths.
“Federal Director General Health on Thursday informed that over one million people have been screened so far,” according to a statement issued after a special inter-provincial meeting for assessing the impact of coronavirus pandemic on Pakistan’s economy was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan, in Islamabad.
Pakistan has taken measures including partial lockdown in major cities and towns to combat the spread of virus. The south Asian country is planning to convert hotels and Karachi Expo center into isolation centers to accommodate the coronavirus positive patients, officials said.
“The Sindh government has also announced to set up isolation center at Karachi Expo Center and provide virus testing equipment to remote purposely set up centers”, Abdul Rasheed Channa, spokesman for Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, told Arab News.
“The World Bank has committed $10 million for Sindh to combat COVID-19 but it is not yet received as its approval is awaited from the executive board,” Channa said.
Planning ministry on Wednesday approved “Pakistan National Emergency Preparedness and response Plan for COVID-19” to address the pandemic.
The emergency project focuses on taking measures through additional resources for strengthening the integrated disease surveillance and response system across the country through establishing isolation rooms, ensuring availability of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) equipment and protective clothing for the health teams, timely diagnostics and procurement of equipment and ventilators for critical case management across the country.
“It also included establishment of a real time surveillance mechanism for early detection and embedding of prevention and control measures to halt/minimize local transmission”, planning ministry statement said.
Global institutions World Bank, ADB and IMF have announced $14 billion, $6.5 billion and $50 billion initial packages to support companies and countries in their efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19.