Somalia has received a grant worth $25.1 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help fight the impact of COVID-19 in the country.
AfDB approved disbursement of the funds on Friday last week.
Consequently, the Federal Government of Somalia will get the funds to help coordinate its efforts towards mitigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic nationally and regionally.
AfDB approved $10.04 million from the Pillar 1 of its Transition Support Facility while $15.06 million was from the Regional Operations Envelope.
The bank expects Somalia’s government to use the funds for undertaking three interlinked COVID-19 responses.
First, the grant will go into supporting the country’s health system. Secondly, it will be used for not only safeguarding livelihoods but also social protection.
Third, the government would be required to use it in supporting the productivity and economic activities of the country’s labor force.
Under healthcare, the funds would go into increasing the ICU capacity in Somalia while boosting the measures aimed at preventing and controlling infections.