UPSC Articles
COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations
In News:
- Recently, India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a $500 million “COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project” to strengthen India’s public health preparedness.
- The project was launched in New Delhi, India.
- This is the first ever health sector support from AIIB to India.
Key takeaways:
- This will cover all States and Union Territories across the country and
- It will address the needs of:
- infected people,
- at-risk populations,
- medical and emergency personnel and service providers,
- medical and testing facilities,
- national and animal health agencies.
- It will help strengthen the country’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Program and revamp infectious disease hospitals and medical colleges.
- It will be implemented by:
- the National Health Mission (NHM)
- the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC)
- the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be the responsible Ministry for the program.
- The project is being financed by the World Bank and AIIB:
- $1.0 billion – World Bank
- $500 million – AIIB.
Important value additions:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- It is a multilateral development bank.
- Mission: To improve social and economic outcomes in Asia by investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors.
- Headquarters: Beijing.
- It began operations in 2016.