ADB Okays $300,000 Grant for Bangladesh

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Saturday approved 300,000 US dollars worth of emergency grants to support the Bangladesh government's fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The grant will support the procurement of health safety materials including personal protective gear, N95 masks, safety goggles, aprons, thermometers, and biohazard bags, according to an ADB press release.

The list has been prioritized by the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh.

The materials will help the government to strengthen its efforts to contain the spread of the virus in the country.

The grant assistance is sourced from the Asian Development Bank Regional Technical Assistance entitled ''Regional Support to Address the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Potential Outbreaks of Other Communicable Diseases''.

''ADB is fully committed to supporting Bangladesh in the fight to control COVID-19, and this is only the first of the planned support that ADB is preparing to help the Government deal with this difficult situation,'' said Country Director Manmohan Parkash.

This assistance will invigorate Bangladesh’s ability to strengthen prevention, improve health professionals' protection from the disease, test people to detect infection, manage severe cases, and reduce the risk of the deadly virus' mass transmission, he said.

''We are working tirelessly to put together further assistance in the health and financial sectors,'' Country Director Parkash added.

In face of a threat of a coronavirus outbreak, Bangladesh government has taken various actions and adopted measures in line with the World Health Organization’s recommendations, the press release said.