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FOCUS FRIDAY: Top COVID-19 (coronavirus) news this week
This week, World Bank Group President, David Malpass, announced a financing proposal for countries to purchase and deploy COVID-19 vaccines. The deadly link between heart disease and COVID-19 was explored in a new blog. East Asian countries brace for a "triple shock" to their economies, including the health impacts of the pandemic itself. These shocks also represent an opportunity to rebuild critical health infrastructure, like in Haiti where a new project aims to provide renewable energy to priority healthcare facilities.
World Bank Group President, David Malpass, proposed to the WBG Board to make available up to $12 billion of fast-track financing to countries for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines once the vaccines have been approved by several highly respected, stringent regulatory agencies. This additional financing will be to low- and middle-income developing countries that don’t have adequate access, helping them alter the course of the pandemic for their people.
Amid COVID-19 World Heart Day reminds us why cardiovascular diseases deserve our attention | Blog
The arrival of COVID-19 has made it more difficult to address cardiovascular diseases in nearly all countries, but it also offers the opportunity to build more resilient, inclusive health systems. People with poor cardiovascular health and other NCDs, are especially vulnerable to serious COVID-19 complications. Taking strong action on NCDs must be an integral part of the pandemic response.
East Asia and Pacific: Pandemic “Triple Shock” Hitting Economies Across Region | Press Release
East Asian countries brace for a "triple shock" to their economies: the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic itself, the economic impact of containment measures, and reverberations from the global recession brought on by the crisis. This triple shock will affect the disadvantaged populations the most because of decreased access to healthcare, education and jobs. Governments must take informed policy decisions to contain the disease and provide relief today, ideally informed by how they will affect recovery and growth tomorrow.
World Bank Supports Sustainable Renewable Energy for Priority Healthcare Facilities Responding to COVID-19 in Haiti | Press Release
In Haiti, a lack of reliable electricity is constraining the efficiency of laboratories to test for COVID-19, limiting the distribution and safe storage of medicines (and eventually vaccines), and can prohibit the use of life-saving equipment, such as oxygen concentrators. The Haiti: Renewable Energy for All Project will allow the Haitian Government to expand the provision of clean and reliable electricity for at least four priority healthcare facilities involved in the response to the pandemic.
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