FONPLATA granted more than $53 million to Argentina to address the effects of the COVID-19

Ph. FONPLATA

The Development Bank approved a new loan of 12 million US dollars for a support program for local assistance to deal with the health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This new loan to Argentina adds to the 25 million US dollars delivered to strengthen actions aimed at alleviating the socioeconomic effects of coronavirus in the Province of Buenos Aires, the 15 million US dollars granted for the construction of modular emergency hospitals, more than 1-million-US-dollar grant aimed at hiring field technicians, to strengthen health personnel protection and training actions according to the WHO recommendations, as well as to a non-reimbursable technical cooperation to strengthen professional medical services, purchase equipment and medical supplies, and health logistics.

The new loan will be used to develop the Support Program for Local Assistance in Emergencies, which aims at strengthening local governments in the implementation of protection and assistance policies for the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be implemented through the Ministry of the Interior in coordination with the Ministry of Health. The program total cost is 15 million US dollars, of which 12 million will be funded through FONPLATA, and the remaining 3 million, through local contribution.

The program will be a tool to implement protection policies for the most vulnerable social groups against the effects of the virus in Argentina, both in terms of income and support measures to ensure social lockdown conditions. On the other hand, resources are made available to strengthen the care capacities of local health systems.

With this new loan, Argentina has already received more than 53 million US dollars from FONPLATA to strengthen its response measures to face and mitigate the coronavirus health and socioeconomic emergency.

In this context, last Monday, April 6, a 25-million-US-dollar disbursement was also approved to strengthen actions aimed at alleviating the socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 in the Province of Buenos Aires. This is the implementation of the second stage of the Program to Strengthen the School Food Service (ALIMENTAR Program), which aims at improving children’s nutrition in the early learning and primary levels by providing three daily meals: breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks. School lunchrooms and their distribution system play a relevant role in social inclusion in Argentina.

In the end of March, Argentina also received 15 million US dollars from FONPLATA for the construction of 11 modular emergency hospitals in different provinces, which enables the country to increase its bed capacity with 760 hospital beds, of which 240 are exclusively for intensive care patients and 520 for other treatments that require hospitalization.

The country has also obtained a non-reimbursable technical cooperation of 200,000 US dollars to improve professional medical services, purchase supplies, logistics and equipment for the implementation of the Emergency Center. This non-reimbursable assistance comes from the special fund specifically created by the Development Bank to be distributed among its five member countries to help them mitigate the effects of the COVID-19.

04/08/2020

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