Ethiopia and the World
Bank Group’s today signed $82.6 million financing agreement ($41.3m grant &
$41.3 million credit) to help the country mitigate the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic.
The agreement was signed
by Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance and Ms. Carolyn Turk, the World Bank
Country Director for Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan.
Due to the current global
Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the signing was done via electronically,
complying with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for social
distancing.
“Although Ethiopia has
achieved significant gains in improving health outcomes and strengthening its
health system, the COVID 19 outbreak is expected to challenge the nation’s
public health preparedness and response systems and negatively impact the
economy,” said Carolyn Turk.
“The project will provide
much needed emergency funds to help Ethiopia to fill critical resource gaps in
its public health emergency preparedness.”
The new COVID-19 Emergency
Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project is designed to help Ethiopia
develop counter measures to lessen the devastating effects of COVID-19.
The project will support
Ethiopia’s National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 by financing the
procurement of medical supplies and equipment, building diagnostic capacity and
training, improving the health screening of people entering into the country,
and establishing quarantine, isolation and treatment centers.
It will also support
communications and information outreach activities to encourage behavioral
change, such as social distancing, hand washing and sanitation.
Furthermore, the project
will help the country to reduce the potential impact of the epidemic on health
systems, social services and economic activity.
The World Bank Group is
rolling out a $14 billion fast-track package to strengthen the COVID-19
response in developing countries and shorten the time to recovery.
As countries need broader
support, the World Bank Group will deploy up to $160 billion over 15 months to
protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic
recovery.