ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a two million dollar grant agreement to strengthen the country’s efforts to combat the novel coronavirus as the government officially announced a second wave of the disease.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday by Economic Affairs Division Secretary Noor Ahmed and ADB Country Director for Pakistan Xiaohong Yang.

The grant, financed from the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund, will help provide life-saving medical supplies, diagnostic and laboratory facilities and other critical equipment.

“ADB continues to work closely with the government of Pakistan and development partners to assist Pakistan in sustaining the gains made in combating the pandemic,” Yang said in a statement. “The grant to be administered through UNICEF will help strengthen Pakistan’s response to the COVID-19 challenge.”

Yang said Pakistan needed to keep up “robust prevention and control measures” and ensure the supply of essential medical and emergency health care facilities.

The latest grant supplements an initial $500,000 provided by ADB through UNICEF to support Pakistan’s procurement of emergency supplies and personal protective equipment.

In April, ADB reallocated $30 million from the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) to support Pakistan’s pandemic response. NDRMF’s board of directors also allocated an additional $20 million from earned interest from the Endowment Fund capitalized under the project.

In May, ADB approved a $300 million emergency assistance loan and in June, granted a $500 million budget support loan to help deliver social protection programs.