ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will donate $7 million to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) continued assistance for the Ehsaas Programme in Pakistan, which is addressing the COVID-19’s secondary impacts.
According to a news statement released by the US embassy on Thursday, USAID Mission Director Julie Koenen and ADB Country Director Yong Ye attended a signing ceremony in Islamabad.
The $7 million donation from USAID will be used by the ADB to offer cash grants to Pakistani families in need of financial assistance as a result of the epidemic.
The funds will be given through the Benazir Income Support Fund Program, which is handled by the Pakistani government’s Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme. The monies from USAID will also give technical and administrative support to the program’s recipients to guarantee their effectiveness, accountability, and transparency.
“Fighting this epidemic will involve enormous resources and an urgent, concerted effort by governments, civil society, the commercial sector, philanthropists, multilateral organisations, and other international partners,” USAID Mission Director Koenen stated during the event. “This donation to ADB will help the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to implement the Ehsaas Program by providing direct cash awards to poor Pakistani households who were impacted by closures and job stoppages during the COVID-19 epidemic,” she continued.
The $7 million donation to the ADB is part of a larger US commitment to help nations afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through our relationship with the Pakistani government, the US has provided more over $63 million in COVID-19 support. Since the outbreak, the US and Pakistan have collaborated to increase infection prevention and control, improve patient care, expand laboratory testing, and support frontline healthcare workers, according to the statement.