The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved another loan to help the government improve the capacity of its health system to respond and control the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the country. “This project will help improve the preparedness and resilience of the country’s health systems at the national and local levels in handling current and future public health threats. It will also contribute to the Philippines’ efforts toward implementing universal health coverage,” ADB Vice President Ahmed Saeed said in the statement. The loan will also fund the training of staff and laboratory technicians on how to operate and maintain the equipment. The loan comes as the government seeks to more than double its daily coronavirus testing capacity to 75,000 by year-end.

Source: Manila Times August 25, 2020 16:30 UTC