THE WORLD Bank has activated $4.5 million to provide immediate funding for St Vincent and the Grenadines’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds will be aimed at strengthening the capacity of the health system.  

It will be used to improve the ability to isolate patients, increase testing capacity, and purchase critical supplies, including personal protective equipment, mobile isolation units, testing equipment, reagents, gloves, and masks.

It will also support preparedness and response capacity for other public health emergencies by increasing access to medical equipment and expanding the capacity of hospitals.

“The World Bank is working closely with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to help the health system prepare for the impacts of COVID-19 and to protect people, especially the most vulnerable,” said Tahseen Sayed, the World Bank’s Country director for the Caribbean.  

These funds were mobilised under the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Regional Health Project using the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC). CERCs allow funds to be reallocated from the project to be used for emergency response activities. 

The World Bank has also provided $11.3 million to support the Republic of Congo’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are providing immediate assistance to support the implementation of the national COVID-19 response strategy and ramp up prevention, health system preparedness and response, including coronavirus patient care,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Country director for the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and Burundi.

Dominica has also received support from the World Bank in the form of $6.6 million to enhance the capacity of the healthcare system and to strengthen food security.

The funds are part of the World Bank Group’s COVID-19 response which features rolling out a $14 billion fast-track package to strengthen developing countries’ handling of the coronavirus outbreak and reduce their recovery time.