ADB Unveils 10 bn USD Response Facility to Curb COVID-19

April 9/2020 (ENA) The African Development Bank Group on Wednesday unveils 10 billion USD for the creation of COVID-19 Response Facility to assist regional member countries in fighting the pandemic.

In a press release sent to ENA, AfDB revealed that the facility is the latest measure taken by the Bank to respond to the pandemic and will be the institution's primary channel for its efforts to address the crisis.

President of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina said the package took into account the fiscal challenges that many African countries are facing.

"Africa is facing enormous fiscal challenges to respond to the coronavirus pandemic effectively,” he said.

He noted that the AfDB is deploying its full weight of emergency response support to assist Africa at this critical time.

“We must protect lives; this Facility will help African countries to fast-track their efforts to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19,” he added.

The Facility entails 5.5 billion USD for sovereign operations in African Development Bank countries, and 3.1 billion USD for sovereign and regional operations for countries under the African Development Fund, the Bank Group's concessional arm that caters to fragile countries.

An additional 1.35 billion USD will be devoted to private sector operations, he mentioned.

“These are extraordinary times, and we must take bold and decisive actions to save and protect millions of lives in Africa. We are in a race to save lives. No country will be left behind,” Adesina said.