Ministry of Finance has revealed the government’s COVID-19 expenditure has risen to USD 194 million.
As per the Weekly COVID-19 Spending Report published by the finance ministry, the government has spent over USD 90 million on the medical and social response to COVID-19. Meanwhile, over USD 97 million has been spent on the economic response to COVID-19.
As per the statistics, most of the medical and social expenses were undertaken for the operations of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with USD 56.3 million. Another USD 23.2 million was spent on the operations of the Ministry of Health amid the pandemic. The statistics revealed the majority of the expenses were undertaken to buy test kits and PPEs, with USD 41.2 million spent on purchasing these items.
Meanwhile, the expenses of the economic response to COVID-19 were directed to the relief packages introduced to assist businesses and households financially affected by the pandemic. Over USD 77 million was spent on the COVID-19 recovery loan scheme, while USD 16.8 million was disbursed as income support allowance to individuals who lost their jobs during the pandemic. Another USD 7.6 million was disbursed as subsidies to utilities services.