MANILA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved a 250 million U.S. dollars loan to help finance the government of Papua New Guinea's (PNG) response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PNG declared a state of emergency on March 21, and the Manila-based bank said subsequent public health emergency, closure of its borders, lockdowns, and other response measures have put pressure on the country's health system and economy.
Among ADB's Pacific developing members, only PNG is currently affected by community transmission of the pandemic. The country has reported 645 confirmed cases with seven deaths.
The ADB said its program will help the government finance and implement its 769 million U.S. dollars pandemic response plan that includes an economic stimulus package.
The program will help strengthen PNG's health system by building temporary isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients, training frontline health workers, rapidly procuring test kits and personal protective equipment, and improving the water supply for communities, schools, and clinics.
According to the ADB, the program will provide social assistance and food security to vulnerable groups, particularly those affected by income and job losses. Some 5,000 people in Port Moresby will receive food rations delivered through local churches, it added.
"The program will assist small businesses and rural producers, including subsidized lending, loans for women-owned businesses, price support for farmers, support to purchase seedlings for 10,000 smallholder farmers and poor rural households, and hygiene improvements in local markets to allow trading to continue," the ADB said.
The ADB also said its program will also focus on gender equality by ensuring women are not disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
The program is funded through the COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) under ADB's Countercyclical Support Facility.
CPRO was established as part of ADB's 20 billion U.S. dollars expanded assistance for developing members to respond to COVID-19, announced on April 13.
ADB also provided a 1.5 million U.S. dollars grant from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund to PNG in July to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Enditem
