COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project 

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.