The country has received a total of US$430 million from the Bank
• Ghana has been receiving funds from the World Bank since the novel coronavirus hit
• So far, the country has received a total of US$430 million from the Bank
• This was made known during the signing of an MoU in Accra
Efforts by the government in the fight against the coronavirus since its outbreak has been classified as tremendous.
This is due to measures being put in place to secure funding and support to fight the pandemic.
Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister, speaking to the media after Ghana signed an MoU with the World Bank in Accra, On July 13, 2021, stated, in April 2020, the country received US$100 million from the World Bank to help prepare and address the pandemic when it first started spreading across the country.
He explained, “A US$65 million from the Greater Accra Resilient & Integrated Development (GARID) Project was also given out to support the fight against the pandemic.
“A US$35 million from the Fast-Track COVID-19 Facility was also made available and a US$130 million Additional Financing from the World Bank in April and November 2020 respectively to support the implementation of the COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.”
The Financing Agreement worth US$200.00 million signed between the Republic of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group has been given through an MOU.
These figures bring the total support fund from the World Bank to US$430.00 million. These Funds will continue to go a long way towards implementing a robust COVID-19 vaccination programme, strengthen the health system for large scale vaccines deployment and widen both the scale and scope of ongoing social welfare protection programmes.
The government supported the return of Senior High School students with GHS 1.2 billion to ensure their safety and continuity, 1.5 million vulnerable citizens were supported with cash grants under the LEAP programme and 2.7 million people were provided with cooked meals during the three-week COVID-19 lockdown.