Ministry of Finance has revealed the government has spent a total of USD259 million on national COVID-19 recovery efforts.
The quarterly COVID-19 spending report released by the finance ministry shows USD259 million has been spent as of December last year. In total, USD142 million has been spent on health and social spending while USD117 million has been spent on emergency response preparedness (ERP).
As per the report, most of the health and social expenses went to the operations of the Ministry of Health with USD58 million, while USD51 million was spent on National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and USD13 million was spent on Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). The report revealed the majority of the expenses were for purchasing the equipment and resources needed for COVID-19 operations, such as test kits and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Additionally, most of the health and social spending by payment type went to the relief packages introduced to assist businesses and households financially affected by the pandemic. As such, USD75 million was spent on the COVID-19 recovery loan scheme, while USD27 million was disbursed as income support allowance to individuals who lost their jobs during the pandemic, and USD14 million was disbursed as subsidies to utility services.