ADB approves USD 50m in support of Maldives Covid-19 response

Maldives has been approved USD 50 million by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in support of the country’s response efforts against the global Covid-19 pandemic.

In astatementreleased on Thursday, the bank revealed that USD 25 million was approved as a concessional loan and USD 25 million was approved as a grant to support the island nation’s funds in Covid-19 response.

The President of ADB, Masatsugu Asakawa revealed that the bank is “strongly committed” to assist the Maldives mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic on the country’s socio-economic growth and health sector.

Under ADB’s Countercyclical Support Facility and through the Covid-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO), the Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) was funded, and is expected to help implement the Maldivian government’s health response measures through actions, some of which includes setting up testing facilities in five regional hospitals across five regions.

It also includes increasing testing capacity to 800 tests per day as well as the provision of at least 400 isolation beds in separate wards for women and men as well as 200 critical care beds for the treatment of the virus, revealed the bank.

ADB revealed that the funds will assist the government conduct its social protection program, including funding allowances to unemployed individuals who have had their earnings affected by termination or wage-cuts.

Further, it is expected to assist the vulnerable population and help the government provide economic assistance to self-employed individuals and free lancers as well as businesses with subsidized and collateral-free working capital loans during the crisis.

The bank is providing a USD 500,000 grant for technical assistance to support the CARES program’s implementation and assist in the building of government capacity to monitor and evaluate the activities under the response package.

Separately, the bank approved a USD 500,000 grant from the Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund and USD 798,000 of grant funding from the “Technical Assistance for Regional Support to Address the Outbreak of COVID-19 and Potential Outbreaks of Other Communicable Diseases” for Maldives in order to procure essential medical supplies with the collaboration with UNICEF.

ADB revealed that the grant funded the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that was urgently required for the safety of medical personnel active in treating Covid-19 patients.

Established during 1966 and owned by 68 members, the bank assures its commitment to achieve a “prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable” Asia and the Pacific, while ensuring that its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, are sustained.

Since being hit by the global pandemic, Maldives has been receiving generous donations and aid from a number of foreign bodies and governments.