Brazil: Corumbá and Ponta Porã share their experiences facing the COVID-19 emergency

FONPLATA Panel Discussion: Municipalities Corumbá and Ponta Porã
Ph. FONPLATA

Both municipalities received non-reimbursable technical cooperation from the Development Bank to face the spread and the impact of the pandemic and participated in the “Municipal Strategies towards the COVID-19 and the Role of Multilateral Organizations”. Access here the live streaming video.

“This pandemic has challenged us and demands effective solutions to slow it down. One of the ways to succeed is to communicate and coordinate actions with our countries, strengthen integration schemes, being effective when pursuing results, but, above all, being supportive”, stated the Executive President of FONPLATA – Development Bank, Juan E. Notaro, as he opened the meeting. He added that the Development Bank “has cooperated providing large part of the funding required by the governments”, and that it is “a big challenge to face, but with joint efforts we will be able to slow down the pandemic and reactivate our countries’ economies”.

This panel discussion aimed at sharing experiences, best practices, and forward-looking approaches in the face of the conditions imposed by the pandemic new normal. FONPLATA’s Operations and Countries Manager, Luciana Botafogo, and Brazil Portfolio Coordinator, Oscar Carvallo, moderated the meeting, which was broadcast live on the Facebook and YouTube channels of FONPLATA. Rogério dos Santos Leite, Secretary of Health of Corumbá, and Patrik Carvalho Derzi, Secretary of Health of Ponta Porã, participated sharing the experiences of their municipalities.

FONPLATA has granted two non-reimbursable funding to the State of Mato Grosso do Sul: USD 50 thousand to the municipality of Corumbá and USD 50 thousand to the municipality of Ponta Porã to help mitigate the negative effects of the spread of the COVID-19. Both representatives informed that technical cooperation were used to purchase equipment for the intensive care units (ICU), tests to detect the virus, and protective supplies for the health personnel.

Due to the COVID-19 social and health emergency, FONPLATA made available to the member countries special funding lines through fast-track procedures for approval and disbursement, as well as the possibility of restructuring existing credits, which were focused, among other things, on hospitals’ recovery, construction and equipping. In the case of Brazil, also substantial non-reimbursable cooperation funding was granted both at municipal and national levels. Additionally, the Development Bank works together with the authorities of the countries to agree new operations to boost the economy, contribute to generate employment, and strengthen trust in the recovery after the pandemic.
 

VIDEO: FONPLATA PANEL DISCUSSION - MUNICIPALITIES CORUMBÁ AND PONTA PORÃ

08/20/2020