Maldives Gets $7.3 Million from World Bank Group

Saturday 4th of April 2020

Maldives Gets $7.3 Million from World Bank Group

On 2nd April, The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $7.3 million Maldives COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project to help the country prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen its public health preparedness.

This will help Maldives provide optimum care to patients, procure personal protective equipment and medical supplies, support hospitals to maintain essential services, strengthen intensive care and cope with a potential surge in demand, strengthen the capacity of laboratories in the capital Male’ and the atolls to diagnose the coronavirus, and train medical staff to manage COVID-19 cases.

“The World Bank’s new emergency financing will help the Maldives government alleviate the impact of COVID-19 and help it strengthen health services and acquire medical resources necessary to protect and treat all Maldivians,” said Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Moreover, a $10 million contingency financing, under Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Financing with a Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT DDO), signed in 2019, has also been made available to support Maldives.