THE World Bank on Thursday, April 23, 2020, announced that it has approved a US$100 million loan to help the Philippines’ fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The project will help strengthen the essential healthcare delivery system for critical medical services in the face of increased demand in the coming months. The project will focus on providing personal protective equipment such as goggles, gloves, gowns; drugs such as antivirals, antibiotics and essential medicines; and medical supplies such as intensive care unit equipment and devices such as mechanical ventilators, cardiac monitors, portable x-ray machines; laboratory equipment and test kits.
The funding will also support the retrofitting of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine as well as the six sub-national and public health laboratories in Baguio, Cebu, Davao and Manila. It will also finance the construction and expansion of laboratory capacity in priority regions that currently do not have these facilities.