COVID-19 likely to cause disruptions

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of outbreak of coronavirus in different parts of Pakistan, the government has convened important meetings of all bilateral and multilateral international donors on Thursday (today) to asses exact losses expected in different sectors of the economy.

This high-level meeting is scheduled to be held at Planning Commission in collaboration with international partners including multilateral creditors such as World Bank, ADB, IDB as well as bilateral donors from USA, Japan, Australia, Canada and others. “Yes, we have convened meeting of international development partners including WB, ADB, IDB, JICA, USAID, CIDA, Ausaid and others here in Islamabad to finalize bench marking of different sectors as the coronavirus is expected to hit negatively different sectors and might result into disruptions. With the help of bench marking, it will help to assess exact losses incurred to the economy on short, medium and long term basis,” a top official of PTI led government told The News here on Wednesday. He said that the import and export losses would be assessed as disruptions in both are expected and the supply chain situation related to food and commodities would also be analyzed. Pakistan has so far sought $588 million both from World Bank and Asian Development Bank in order to combat with virus effectively.

The government cleared Concept Clearance Paper for combating coronavirus and decided to seek $238 million from World Bank funding and endorsed another $350 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in support for the COVID-19 emergency response in Pakistan. The project concept titled “Pakistan National Emergency Preparedness and response Plan for COVID-19” was presented before the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and was subsequently approved. The emergency project focuses on taking measures through additional resources for strengthening the integrated disease surveillance and response system across the country through establishing isolation rooms, ensuring availability of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) equipment and protective clothing for the health teams, timely diagnostics and procurement of equipment and ventilators for critical care management across the country. It also included establishment of a real time surveillance mechanism for early detection and embedding of prevention and control measures to altogether stop or minimize local transmission.

Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday announced a $6.5 billion initial package to address the immediate needs of its developing member countries (DMCs) as they respond to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "This pandemic has become a major global crisis. It requires forceful action at national, regional, and global levels,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “With our developing member countries, we are formulating an aggressive set of actions to combat the pandemic; to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across the region; and to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible. Based on close dialogue with our members and peer institutions, we are deploying this $6.5 billion rescue package to meet the immediate needs of our members.” Asakawa stressed that “ADB stands ready to provide further financial assistance and policy advice down the road whenever the situation warrants, on top of the $6.5 billion package.”

The initial package includes approximately $3.6 billion in sovereign operations for a range of responses to the health and economic consequences of the pandemic, and $1.6 billion in non-sovereign operations for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, domestic and regional trade, and firms directly impacted. The ADB will also mobilize about $1 billion in concessional resources through reallocations from ongoing projects and assessing possible needs for contingencies. The ADB will make available $40 million in technical assistance and quick-disbursing grants. To provide the support package to DMCs as quickly and flexibly as possible, ADB will seek adjustment in its financing instruments and business processes. Subject to approval by ADB’s Board of Directors, this will include faster access to emergency budget support for economies facing severe fiscal constraints, streamlined procedures for policy-based lending, and universal procurement with flexible and faster processes. The pandemic demands a coordinated response and strong collaboration among countries and organizations. The ADB will further strengthen its close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, regional development banks, the World Health Organization, and major bilateral funding agencies including the Japan International Cooperation Agency, as well as the US Centers for Disease Control and private sector organizations, to ensure effective implementation of its COVID-19 response. When contacted to ADB’s spokesman here in Islamabad, said “Pakistan’s allocation is being worked out and will be announced in a day or two”.