Pakistan announced USD 595 million plan to tackle coronavirus

Pakistan on Thursday launched USD-595 million plan to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) said the Preparedness and Response Plan (PPRP) will strengthen the country's capacity in emergency prevention, preparedness, response, relief and build health systems for a period of nine months from April to December 2020.

Launching the plan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders involved in the preparation of the PPRP.

He said saving lives from the pandemic and hunger were the top priorities of the government.

The minister urged world leaders to come together against coronavirus -- a "common enemy" -- and underscored the socio-economic impact of the virus.

 

Referring to the Prime Minister Imran Khan's 'Global initiative on Debt Relief', he said Pakistan was reaching out to all stakeholders to craft a comprehensive response to the financial impacts of COVID-19.

He thanked the international partners for readiness to respond to the needs of the people of Pakistan amidst COVID-19 outbreak.

At the launch of the response plan, Qureshi was joined by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, representatives of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), United Nations, World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and officials from China, the EU, the US, Canada, France, Republic of Korea and Australia.

A large number of representatives of UN agencies, international organisations, NGOs and media joined the launch virtually as well.

Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom said, "The COVID-19 outbreak is creating significant additional pressure on an already overburdened health system, exacerbating the vulnerabilities of affected populations. With the fast-moving spread of the pandemic, Pakistan requires, now, more than ever, flexible and timely funding, so that it can be allocated quickly to where it is most needed."

To kick-start the response plan, the World Bank has immediately made available USD 240 million package to help Pakistan take effective and timely action to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our support to Pakistan will help the country enhance its healthcare system to better respond to COVID-19, especially as the outbreak continues to evolve rapidly and affects the vulnerable Pakistanis the most," said World Bank Regional Vice President for South Asia Hartwig Schafer.

The Asian Development Bank has already approved more than USD 52 million in support for Pakistan's COVID-19 pandemic response.

The response plan calls on all partners to act together and utilise their resources and expertise to help implement a coordinated response across the country at federal and provincial levels.

The coronavirus has claimed 230 lives in Pakistan with nearly 11,000 infections. So far 2,337 people have recovered from the killer disease.