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Coronavirus

WB okays $100m loan for Bangladesh


Published : 04 Apr 2020 09:23 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 10:40 AM

The World Bank has approved a fast-track $100 million loan to help Bangladesh prevent, detect, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen its national systems for public health emergencies.

The fund is part of the World Bank Group’s $14 billion fast-track package to strengthen the COVID-19 response in developing countries and shorten the time to recovery.

With traditional 1.25 percent interest rate, the credit has a 30-year maturity, including a five-year grace period.
As of Saturday, Bangladesh confirmed 70 cases of new coronavirus of whom eight died, 30 recovered, 12 are taking treatment from home and the rest are at hospitals.

With the WB fund, the health ministry will roll out a project titled ‘COVID-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project’ to help upgrade selected health facilities and laboratories to detect, manage and treat suspected and confirmed cases.

It will also support screening in Bangladesh’s designated health facilities and entry points.

So the project will benefit people with “suspected and confirmed infections, at-risk populations, medical and emergency personnel, as well as public and private service providers, medical and testing facilities, and the national health system,” according to the Washington-based lender said.

“The World Bank is working closely with the Government of Bangladesh to fight the spread of COVID-19,” Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan said in a statement, after the approval of the loan in Washington on Friday.

“This project will support the implementation of Bangladesh’s national plan to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it will help strengthen the country’s response by ensuring that effective surveillance and diagnostic systems are in place and that medical supplies, personal protective equipment, ventilators and isolation units are available in designated hospitals.”

The project will equip designated laboratories with COVID-19 trained staff as well as diagnostic equipment, test kits, and reagents. It is mobilising resources for faster procurement to expedite the acquisition of critical items.

To deliver critical medical support and cope with the increased demand for services, the project will rehabilitate district-level health facilities, selected Medical College hospitals, the Infectious Diseases Hospital, and the Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, among others.

It will help set up new isolation wards and ramp up intensive care units, provide personal protective equipment, medical equipment including ventilators, and medicines in designated hospitals. The project will also help improve medical waste management and disposal, and water and sanitation systems in the designated health facilities.

To minimise risks for patients and health personnel, the project will help develop guidelines for treatment and hospital infection control, train medical professionals and health workers.

Further, it will help the government design and implement behavioural change communication campaigns for social distancing and improved hygiene practices, according to the World Bank.