The World Bank has approved a fast-track $29 million COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project to help Nepal prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen its public health preparedness. The agreement was signed today by the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.
The project will focus on the immediate response and preparedness needs to fight the virus. The project provides emergency support to enhance Nepal’s capacity to detect cases and ensure prompt contact tracing consistent with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and Ministry of Health and Population protocols. It will also help set up new intensive care units, beds, and isolation facilities across the country. The project will be implemented by Ministry of Health and Population.
The project will also equip designated health facilities with personal protective equipment and hygienic materials and increase the diagnostic capacity of laboratories for responding to public health emergencies. It will enhance the National Public Health Laboratory to handle harmful infectious diseases and strengthen public institutions to coordinate and better manage response activities in all three levels of government.
The agreement was signed by Finance Secretary Sishir Kumar Dhungana on behalf of the Government of Nepal and World Bank Country Manager for Nepal, Faris Hadad-Zervos on behalf of the World Bank.
People’s News Monitoring Service
