World Bank approves 20 mln USD for Cambodia's COVID-19 response

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a 20 million U.S. dollars credit for the Cambodia COVID-19 Emergency Response Project, the World Bank-Cambodia said in a press statement on Friday.

"This fast-tracked financing will help Cambodia confront this unprecedented global health emergency by sourcing much-needed medical supplies and facilities to diagnose and treat COVID-19, reduce the spread of infection, strengthen pandemic response capabilities, and shorten the time to recovery for both people and the economy," Inguna Dobraja, World Bank country manager for Cambodia, said in the statement.

She said this project will help Cambodia meet the targets set out in its COVID-19 Master Plan, which includes strengthening disease prevention activities, rapid detection, and preparedness and response.

The project will finance the construction of isolation and treatment centers and increase the diagnostic capacity of laboratories at all 25 of the country's provincial and municipal referral hospitals, and will finance the purchase of medical supplies needed to treat patients and prevent the spread of infection, the statement said.

The project will also support the deployment of the Ministry of Health's Rapid Response Teams across the country through the hiring and training of additional staff, strengthening the National Public Health Emergency Operation Center which coordinates the country's COVID-19 preparedness and response efforts, and establishing provincial-level emergency operations centers, it added.

The Southeast Asian country has recorded a total of 114 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 to date, with 35 patients cured, according to a Ministry of Health's statement on Friday.