DOH to buy emergency medical supplies vs. COVID-19 using ADB grant

ADB’s Masatsugu Asakawa. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) $3-million grant for the Philippines will be used by the Department of Health (DOH) to buy additional emergency medical supplies needed in the fight against the COVID-19 disease.

In a statement Saturday, the Manila-based multilateral lender confirmed Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III’s announcement last Friday that the Philippines secured fresh funding to contain the deadly COVID-19.

“The assistance, incorporating the ADB’s most flexible, expeditious procurement approaches, allows the government to purchase diagnostic reagents and equipment, materials for makeshift hospitals, and personal protection supplies for health workers managing severe COVID-19 cases, among others,” it said.

The ADB said it will manage the grant coming from the Asia-Pacific Disaster Response Fund.

The ADB added that it will work closely not only with the DOH but also the World Health Organization (WHO) and related United Nations (UN) technical agencies so they can purchase and deliver medical supplies on time.

“The ADB’s assistance will help the Philippines, our host country, address the immediate financial and logistical constraints on the provision of emergency medical services during this extraordinary public health emergency,” ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said.

“The assistance will allow the government to purchase key medical supplies and equipment, deliver health services, and minimize the social and economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. This is the first step in what will be a broader program of working with the government to respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 to health and economic activity,” Asakawa added.

The ADB earlier made available a total of $4 million in funds for its member-countries’ immediate response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which already turned pandemic.

Edited by JPV