The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved today a $5.2 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA)* to support Mauritania in strengthening the national public health preparedness to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mauritania COVID-19 Response Project will strengthen the country’s capacity to identify, isolate, and provide care to patients with COVID-19 in a timely manner and minimize the spread of the disease. It will also prepare and strengthen the health system and provide timely and evidence-based information to support healthcare interventions. This new project complements $2 million of support provided under the existing Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE III) project for the national COVID-19 response plan.

“The WBG remains committed to providing a fast and flexible response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in close partnership with the government of Mauritania and other partners led by WHO. Our objective is to strengthen preparedness and containment capacity, as well as improve detection and surveillance, and continue training medical staff on case-management in order to protect the population,” said Laurent Msellati, World Bank Country Manager.

The World Bank Group is rolling out a $14 billion fast-track package to strengthen the COVID-19 response in developing countries and shorten the time to recovery. The immediate response includes financing, policy advice and technical assistance to help countries cope with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The IFC is providing $8 billion in financing to help private companies affected by the pandemic and preserve jobs. IBRD and IDA are making an initial $6 billion available for the health-response. As countries need broader support, the World Bank Group will deploy up to $160 billion over 15 months to protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery.

* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61 percent going to Africa.