The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant of USD 500,000 from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund to the Maldives to help finance the response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. The grant was approved on top of the USD 100,000 technical assistance grant provided by the ADB for initial emergency support.
The Maldives declared a State of Public Health Emergency in the country on March 12. On March 8, the government requested assistance from the ADB in implementing containment, mitigation, and response initiatives against the COVID-19 pandemic. Senior Social Development Specialist Uzma Hoque said ADB is in close contact with the government and other development partners of the Maldives.
The grants from ADB will ease the government's immediate financial, logistics, and other constraints to meet immediate relief needs and deliver appropriate medical services where required. The grants will support the procurement of emergency medical goods and supplies, diagnostic equipment, materials for critical care facilities, including intensive care unit beds and personal protection and other key medical equipment.
On March 18, ADB announced an initial package of approximately USD 6.5 billion to address the immediate needs of its developing member countries, including the Maldives, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.