By Shakeel Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will receive a grant of US$588 million from international financial institutions for tackling the spread of coronavirus that has claimed a life and infected over 250 people across the country, media reported. The announcement was made during a meeting of Planning Commission chaired by its Deputy Chairman Jahanzeb Khan.
The World Bank has announced a grant of US$ 238 million while the Asian Development Bank would provide US$350 million for supporting preventive measures to be taken across the country, the meeting was told.
The meeting also approved the ‘Pakistan National Emergency Plan’ under which funds would be earmarked for the establishment of isolation centres across the country to deal with the virus outbreak.
A comprehensive strategy would be developed to monitor the coronavirus-related situation round the clock.
Ventilators and other extra machinery and items will be supplied across the country, the meeting decided along with the provision of preventive gear required for health teams and medics treating the patients. It is pertinent to mention here that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has predicted on Tuesday that the novel coronavirus will destroy the economy of the developing countries.
In an interview with the foreign news agency, PM Khan said that rich countries should waive off the loans of poor countries in order to curb the prevention of coronavirus. “In case we get swamped by this virus, our health facilities will not be able to cope with it and,” he added. He also urged the United States to lift sanctions over Iran as they are in a terrible state due to coronavirus and the sanctions have already impoverished Tehran.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) to immediately release $50 million for Pakistan in an effort to fight and fend off the deadly coronavirus pandemic. An official statement by the global money lending body said that the grant will be exclusively given to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak could cost Pakistan’s economy between $16.387 million to $4.95 billion, or 0.01 to 1.57 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in losses, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a report. ADB released a study “COVID-19 Outbreak to Have Significant Economic Impact on Developing Asia” on March 6, where it mentioned several scenarios such as best case, moderate case, worse-case and the hypothetical worst-case to assess the impact of COVID-19 on various developing countries in Asia.
