ADB approves $3 million grant to Philippines to fight virus

MANILA, Philippines — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $3 million grant to support the government’s efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19, including the purchase of emergency medical supplies and the delivery of effective health care services.

The multilateral bank said over the weekend that the assistance would incorporate its  “most flexible, expeditious procurement approaches.”

This will allow the government to purchase diagnostic reagents and equipment, materials for makeshift hospitals, and personal protection supplies for health workers managing severe COVID-19 cases, among others.

“ADB’s assistance will help the Philippines, our host country, address the immediate financial and logistical constraints on the provision of emergency medical services during this extraordinary public health emergency,” said ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa.

“The assistance will allow the government to purchase key medical supplies and equipment, deliver health services and minimize the social and economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This is the first step in what will be a broader program of working with the government to respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 to health and economic activity,” Asakawa said.

ADB will manage the grant which will be financed by the Asia-Pacific Disaster Response Fund, and work closely with the Department of Health, the World Health Organization, and other United Nations technical agencies to ensure timely delivery of the medical supplies.

President Duterte declared a state of public health emergency on March 8 and upgraded the alert to its highest level on March 12 based on evidence of community transmission.

As of March 14, the Department of Health reported 98 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country, including eight deaths, four of them believed to be caused by local transmission.

The new assistance to the Philippines builds on ADB’s previous response to COVID-19, including $200 million made available through ADB’s Supply Chain Finance Program for companies manufacturing and distributing medicines and other items needed to fight the pandemic.