The Maldives government has welcomed the launching of the “Response and Recovery Fund” for the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic by the United Nations.

“United Nations Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund” is an inter-agency fund mechanism established in order to support the low and middle-income countries to overcome the health and development crisis that has been caused as a result of the fast-spreading pandemic.

It also aims to support socio-economic programmes in low and middle-income countries as well.

The government also welcomed the report by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres which was publicized on Tuesday.

Out of the USD two billion projected as financial requirements of the fund, USD one billion will be issued within the first nine months of operations.

The government will be working “closely” with UN agencies and international partners to access the funds through various programs and projects. It is also set to focus on the needs of responding to the health emergency and minimize socio-economic impacts caused by the pandemic, on the population.

Maldives economy is severely affected by the global pandemic especially as a small island developing state dependent on tourism and hospitality industries.

With this being said, the initiative could play a “crucial role” to protect vulnerable groups through social protection mechanisms, food security, digital innovation and other measures to help the nation overcome the crisis.

Further, the government is already assessing the economic impact of the pandemic on the Maldives in partnership with various UN agencies. Likewise, response measures are being formulated with the support of bilateral and multilateral partners.

The Foreign Ministry revealed that the administration believes that SG Guterres’s call for action requires “global solidarity and partnership” in order to overcome the “enormous challenges” faced by several countries due to the pandemic.