The World Bank approved $36.2 million in funding for Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday, to help the country prevent, detect, and fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The funds will be used to pay for meical equipment needed to strengthen Bosnia’s public health services, and for social assistance for nearly 50,000 people threatened by the economic fallout of the crisis.
“The World Bank stands with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) during this unprecedented crisis. While the situation is still unfolding, we have managed so far to prepare this initial package to help the country prevent, detect, and respond to the pandemic, and provide social assistance to most vulnerable groups”, said World Bank’s country manager for Bosnia and Montenegro, Emanuel Salinas.
“With the BiH Emergency Covid-19 Project, the relevant authorities in the country will be able to increase isolation capacities in hospitals, obtain new intensive care beds with ventilators, establish new designated laboratories for testing and procure other medical equipment and material. Furthermore, some 48,000 people that are most affected by the pandemic crisis will receive social assistance benefits,” the World Bank said in a statement.
They added that the World Bank is working to adjust the existing operations and financing, especially in the health sector, in order to help authorities respond to pandemic-related issues, which also includes providing advice on the economic impact of the ongoing crisis.
“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. We are increasing disease surveillance, improving public health interventions, and helping the private sector continue to operate and sustain jobs. Over the next 15 months, we will be deploying up to $160 billion in financial support to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery, including $50 billion of new IDA resources in grants or highly concessional terms,” the World Bank said.
