AIIB agrees $100m loan to boost Uzbekistan's healthcare emergency response
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has approved a loan of $100 million to Uzbekistan to strengthen the country’s public health emergency response and preparedness to address the COVID-19 pandemic and enhance its resilience to future public health disasters.
Cofinanced with the Asian Development Bank, the project aims to improve Uzbekistan’s capacity for surveillance, diagnostic testing and treatment for COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks. It is expected to benefit the population at large, in particular, those who are infected and at risk, including the elderly, people with chronic conditions and medical personnel.
The project comprises three components: strengthening the national laboratory system and enhancing the testing capacity of 38 healthcare facilities; establishing a national surveillance system that will introduce a digital platform to identify potential COVID-19 cases and improve monitoring; and enhancing clinical care for patients through the upgrading of 16 COVID-19 treatment centers while avoiding disruption of essential health services.
