The World Bank has approved a $100 million loan
to Turkey to support the actions it is taking to respond to the
coronavirus pandemic.
"The project is part of the World Bank's $14 billion global Fast
Track Facility announced on April 2," the bank said in a statement last
Friday.
“The funding will strengthen Turkey’s capacity to avert the
potentially high health and human cost of the COVID-19 pandemic by
reinforcing mitigation and disease management,” said Auguste Tano
Kouame, World Bank country director for Turkey. “With the actions
supported by this project we hope to contribute to saving lives.”
The project, implemented by Turkey's Health Ministry, is meant to
support government efforts to curb the virus' spread and strengthen the
overall health system to detect and treat cases.
It aims to strengthen testing and surveillance systems and the
procurement of frontline equipment to address urgent needs for medical
equipment and supplies.
Turkey on Sunday saw the lowest number of new coronavirus cases in 20
days with 2,357, bringing the total number of registered cases in the
country to 110,130, according to Health Ministry data.
The number of deaths stood at 99, marking the seventh consecutive
decline in fatalities. The latest fatalities brought the total toll to
2,805.
So far, 29,140 people have recovered from the disease.
"Given the nature of the disease, the population at large will
benefit from this project," said Ahmet Levent Yener, the project's task
leader.
He added that some 20 million people are expected to benefit from the
initiative, including people who contracted the virus, at-risk
populations (particularly the elderly and people with chronic
conditions), migrant families, medical and emergency personnel, medical
and testing facilities, and public health agencies engaged in the
response in Turkey.
The project will also aim to enhance public health awareness and
behavioral change, which will expand community engagement and outreach
activities to increase the commitment of the government, private sector
and civil society, to build knowledge, confidence and trust.
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