Additional Financing for the Panama COVID-19 Emergency Response Project

active

An outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been spreading rapidly across the world since December 2019, following the diagnosis of the initial cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since the beginning of March 2020, the number of cases outside China has grown exponentially and the crisis has reached global scale. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic as the coronavirus rapidly spreads across the world. COVID-19 is one of several emerging infectious diseases (EID) outbreaks in recent decades that have emerged from animals in contact with humans, resulting in major outbreaks with significant public health and economic impacts.The COVID-19 Emergency Response Project for the Republic of Panama is financed under the he COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program (SPRP) using the Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA), approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on April 2, 2020. Panama’s economy has demonstrated impressive growth over the years, however, the COVID-19 outbreak’s effects on trade will significantly impact economic growth. Between 2010 and 2018, Panama’s annual GDP growth averaged 6.5%, triple the average annual growth for the LAC region. However, COVID-19 has emerged during a slowdown in major economies like China and the U.S., Panama’s largest trading partners. Global growth of 2.4% in 2019 was the lowest observed since the 2008/09 financial crisis, and Panama’s 3.0% growth in 2019 was also the lowest in the decade since the crisis. As the effects of COVID-19 are felt more deeply in Panama and around the world, the Government will need to implement ambitious measures to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on health and on economic growth. The proposed Project components are aligned with the objectives of the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program (SPRP) and will support the Government’s capacity to detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19. The specific activities financed by the Project fit into the GoP’s COVID-19 Action Plan to contain and mitigate the damage of the coronavirus epidemic; specifically it will support the identification and treatment of patients with COVID-19 to minimize disease spread, morbidity and mortality. The proposed Project will attempt to implement climate-change adaptation measures when possible, and to address gender issues, as necessary. Component 1: Strengthening the response to COVID-19 and national systems for public health preparedness [US$19.5 million]. This component would provide immediate support to the national COVID-19 Action Plan. Specifically, it aligns with the Action Plan by providing support for the procurement of key medical equipment and supplies for the prevention, detection and treatment of COVID-19. It would support prevention and containment by financing critical inputs for infection control in health facilities as well as investigation of suspected cases and contacts tracing. It would strengthen disease detection capacities through the provision of laboratory equipment and supplies to ensure prompt testing and diagnosis. The project would also support critical aspects of health service provision in order to mobilize surge response capacity, particularly the provision of intensive care. Thus, this component would include two subcomponents centered around prevention, detection and health service provision. Sub-component 1.1: Support measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 This subcomponent will support measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in health service facilities and among health workers, the frontline workers critical to the COVID-19 response. This will finance the procurement of key prevention and infection control inputs including cleaning and sanitation supplies, autoclaves and sterilization equipment and medical supplies, and supplies to ensure safe hospital waste management practices. The Ministry of the Presidency is leading national communication efforts geared toward informing the public about COVID-19 and ensuring their participation in social distancing and prevention measures. Sub-component 1.2: Strengthen case detection capacity and support critical aspects of health service provision. Case detection and tracing are critical elements of the COVID-19 response, ensuring that potential cases are identified and referred to treatment as appropriate, and that potential contacts are traced in order to prevent further spread of the disease. This subcomponent will finance the procurement of key case detection inputs and supplies, including laboratory supplies for COVID-19 diagnostics, testing booths that protect health workers during COVID-19 testing, and other equipment and supplies as needed. In addition, this subcomponent will strengthen the capacity of public health services to cope with the additional demand associated with COVID-19. Specifically, it will finance the procurement of key health service delivery inputs, including medicines, equipment and supplies. This will include equipment for hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs), such as emergency carts, personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies, as well as other equipment, supplies and ancillary services as needed. Component 2: Project Management and Monitoring [0.5 Million]. This component would finance: i) required staff and operational costs of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) at the Health, Administrative, and Financial Management Unit (UGSAF) at MINSA, and ii) monitoring and project reporting.