According to the financing agreement, approved Thursday at a meeting of the Cape Verde Council of Ministers, to which Lusa had access today, it is a loan that must be used until March 31, 2021 and for which the The Cape Verdean state will pay a maximum interest rate of 0.5%, with annual capital disbursements, in June and December.
The loan will be made through the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank agency, and the contract provides that the funding is aimed at “implementing prevention, detection and response activities” under the Plan National Preparedness and Response to Covid-19, launched in March by the Cape Verdean government.
The funding will be used to purchase emergency medical and non-medical supplies, such as gloves, surgical masks, respirators, eye protection equipment and isolation gowns, as well as prevention and infection control materials for healthcare professionals. and health structures.
The capacity of laboratories in health facilities will also be strengthened, with the acquisition of reagents for testing the covid-19, as well as diagnostic and life support equipment, in addition to hospital beds, surgical instruments and vehicles for operations. of emergencies.
This financing, through IDA, is part of the emergency program of US $ 14 billion (€ 12.9 billion) for developing countries, within the scope of the covid-19 pandemic.
Preventive measures
Cape Verde is today on the sixth day, of 20 planned, of a state of emergency to contain the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, with the population obliged to the general duty of withdrawal, with limitations on movements, closed non-essential companies and all suspended inter-island connections .
Cape Verde registers six confirmed cases of covid-19 in the archipelago, on the islands of Boa Vista and Santiago, in addition to one death. The last confirmed case came last Saturday.
The current state of emergency in Cape Verde is in effect until at least April 17, with the archipelago still closed to international flights and the berthing of ships, with the exception of freighters.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already infected more than one million people worldwide, of whom more than 51,000 died.
Of the infection cases, about 190,000 are considered cured.
The Covid-19 pandemic already affects 50 of the 55 African countries and territories with more than 7,000 infections and 280 deaths, according to the African Union’s Disease Control and Prevention Center (Africa CDC). São Tomé and Príncipe remains the only Portuguese-speaking country without a record of infection.
