World Bank: $100m to support Turkey's coronavirus fight

The World Bank has approved a $100 million loan to Turkey to support its efforts to fight COVID-19, the bank said on Friday.

By implementing a project, the global financial body aims to support government efforts to curb the virus’ spread and strengthen the overall health system to detect and treat cases, AFP reported.

“The project is part of the World Bank’s $14 billion global Fast Track Facility,” it said in a statement.

“The funding will strengthen Turkey’s capacity to avert the potentially high health and human cost of the COVID-19 pandemic by reinforcing mitigation and disease management,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, the World Bank country director for Turkey.

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Meanwhile, the Turkish government’s steps to support the economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic have reached a value of 200 billion lira ($28.7 billion), Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said last week.

Last month, the World Bank approved an increased $14 billion package of fast-track financing to assist companies and countries in their efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

After originating in Wuhan, China, last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 185 countries and regions worldwide, with Europe and the US the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed more than 211,200 people worldwide, with the total number of infections exceeding 3.04 million, while at least 894,500 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University of the US.