Physical Wellness

$150 Million Funding Offered by World Bank to Fight Zika Virus

By Kanika Gupta | Update Date: Feb 22, 2016 09:48 AM EST

On Thursday, World Bank announced that it will finance $150 million immediately to Caribbean and Latin American countries to help fight against Zika virus outbreak. In a statement released by World Bank, it said that they will increase the support if required and the current amount has been determined by the demand assessed by the team of experts sent to the affected countries.

The World Bank also revealed projections highlighting the economic impact of mosquito-borne virus, adding that they expect it will affect the region's economic output by $3.5 billion or 0.06% of the GDP in 2016. The bank also estimates that the government will lose up to $420 million in fiscal revenue because of the virus, as reported by Reuters

The Caribbean and Latin American countries that are depend a lot on tourism could lose as much as 1% of GDP this year, predicted World Bank. Although they did not mention the names of the countries, but they said that they might require more support from the international community. It did not name the countries but said they might require additional support from the international community.

"Our analysis underscores the importance of urgent action to halt the spread of the Zika virus and to protect the health and well being of people in the affected countries," said World Bank president Jim Yong Kim in a statement, reported The Globe and Mail.

The financing offered by World Bank will be used for various activities that are crucial for Zika virus response, that includes course surveillance and control of the epidemic. It will also involve identifying the high risk people, especially pregnant women and the ones that are in reproductive age bracket. It will also provide postnatal care to prevent neurological complication and follow-up care during pregnancy. The initiatives will be geared towards family planning, community mobilization, public awareness, tips to protect themselves etc, says the World Bank press release

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