The World Bank has approved an additional credit of US$130million from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Ghana COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project.
The additional financing for the health sector will support government to scale-up its efforts to prevent a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and safely reopen its economy.
“This additional funding is timely and critical for saving lives and building resilient systems by further increasing capacity of surveillance, diagnosis and treatment with increased availability of intensive-care unit beds and adopting new COVID-19 medications.
These are integral efforts toward achieving Universal Health Coverage, which Ghana has committed to as a priority,” said Pierre Laporte, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The project will strengthen government efforts to prevent and contain the virus and safely revive socio-economic activities in the country. It will also help prepare for future COVID-19 vaccine deployment.
“The project complements both the World Bank Group and other development partners’ investments in disease control and surveillance, and citizen engagement. We will continue working closely with other partners to support the scaling-up of Ghana’s COVID-19 response and secure essential health and nutrition service delivery,” said Anthony Seddoh, Senior Health Specialist at the World Bank Group.
The project will also expand communications and awareness campaigns nationwide to reduce risks of infection and increase understanding of the COVID-19 vaccines. It will increase support to persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups – such as survivors of gender-based violence, who have been disproportionally affected by the pandemic.
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The World Bank Group, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, is taking broad, fast action to help developing countries strengthen their pandemic response. It is supporting public health interventions, working to ensure the flow of critical supplies and equipment, and helping the private sector continue to operate and sustain jobs.
The World Bank Group is making available up to US$160billion over a 15-month period ending June 2021 to help more than 100 countries protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery. This includes US$50billion of new IDA resources through grants and highly concessional loans, and US$12billion for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
