Friday, 29 March, 2024, 7:08 PM
Advance Search
Home

Govt signs $100m deal with ADB for mitigating COVID-19 pandemic

Published : Wednesday, 13 May, 2020 at 11:53 PM  Count : 868

Govt signs $100m deal with ADB for mitigating COVID-19 pandemic

Govt signs $100m deal with ADB for mitigating COVID-19 pandemic


The government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a $100 million loan agreement to support the government's efforts to address the immediate public health requirements for mitigating the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Fatima Yasmin and ADB Country Director Manmohan Parkash, signed the loan agreement remotely, on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB respectively. ADB's Board of Directors approved the assistance on April 30, 2020, said an ADB press release.
"As a trusted development partner, we are pleased to offer $100 million to bolster the Government’s efforts in managing this catastrophic pandemic, which challenges Bangladesh’s recent successes in socioeconomic development," said Country Director Manmohan Parkash.

"Bangladesh has taken decisive actions to manage the COVID-19 outbreak and this assistance will support the Government's efforts in mitigating the health sector challenges in short and medium terms. I am confident the challenges will be met successfully through pragmatic policy decisions, and health sector capacity building and reforms," Parkash added.

The assistance under the COVID-19 Response Emergency Assistance Project will help strengthen Bangladesh’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak by providing urgently needed health equipment, medical supplies, diagnostic systems, and upgrading of the capacity of the health workforce.

This project will support the immediate procurement of equipment and supplies for testing; upgrade of medical infrastructure; and the development of system and community capacities for surveillance, prevention, and response to the pandemic in Bangladesh.

The project will equip 17 medical college hospitals with isolation and critical care units. Capacity and quality of at least 19 laboratories will be upgraded with COVID-19 microbiological diagnostic facilities.

The release said at least 3,500 health sector workers, about 50 percent of whom are women, will be trained in modern skills and knowledge, and the recruitment of more health professionals and technical staff will be supported.

The concessional assistance for the project will be sourced from ADB's ordinary capital resources with an interest charge at the rate of 1.0 percent per annum; a term of 40 years, including a grace period of 10 years;
repayment of principal at 2 percent per annum for the first 10 years after the grace period, and 4 percent per annum thereafter.

Related Topics

ADB for mitigating COVID-19 pandemic  








Latest News
Most Read News
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: info©dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
  [ABOUT US]     [CONTACT US]   [AD RATE]   Developed & Maintenance by i2soft