By Delisa Thwala
On April 20, 2020, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, the World Bank Group (WBG) approved a US$ 6 million (E104,385,102.00) loan for Eswatini to support the implementation of the Covid-19 National Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan through the Covid-19 Emergency Response Project.
This was revealed by the Minister of Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, during the Commission of the JEE by WBG held at Sibane Sami Hotel.
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Matsebula said the Project Development Objective was to prevent, detect, and respond to the threat posed by Covid-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in Eswatini.
“Additional funding of US$8million (E139,444,480.00) comprising of a US$5million (E87,240,815.00) loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and a US$ 3 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness Trust Fund (HEPRTF) was approved on April 16, 2021,” said Matsebula.
He said this was to support the costs of expanding activities of the Eswatini CERP under the Covid-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), using the Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA).
The Minister said the implementation of the Health Emergency Preparedness Trust Fund has contributed towards strengthening national preparedness for future emergencies and sustainability of interventions.
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Matsebula said key highlights include the development of high-level guiding documents such as the Strategic Toolkit for Assessing Risks (STAR) report, National Health Emergency Response Operations Plan, and specific contingency plans.
“The project also managed to test the readiness of the country towards response to an incident through the first-ever full-scale simulation exercise.
Additionally, the WHO, under recommendations from various WHO committees developed three flagship programs to support member states in the African region to prepare for, detect, and respond to public health emergencies,” he said.
