KOSOVO EMERGENCY COVID-19 PROJECT

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The project is in response to the request of the Government of Kosovo for support in preparing for andresponding to the COVID-19 pandemic and sustaining their efforts to prevent future outbreaks of emerging infectiousdiseases. The project is prepared under the COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program (SPRP) using theMultiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA), approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on April 2,2020 (PCBASIC0219761) with an overall Program financing envelope of up to US$6.00 billion.The project has three components: (1) Health care delivery and health system strengthening; (2) Supporting households to comply with public health containment measures; (3) Project implementation, communication and community engagement.Component 1 provides immediate support to the government to prevent new cases of COVID-19, limit local transmission through contact-tracing and containment strategies, and to treat established cases, including the most severe. It supports the enhancement of disease detection capacities through the provision of technical expertise, laboratory equipment, and systems to ensure prompt case finding and contact tracing. The project will also contribute to the strengthening of health system preparedness, quality of medical care provided to COVID-19 patients, whilst minimizing the risks for health personnel and patients, through the provision of PPE and infection control materials in Kosovo’s regional hospitals and primary health care facilities. It will also enable the government to mobilize surge response capacity through trained and well-equipped frontline health workers. Component 2 will support the Government to provide income support to the poor and vulnerable households in Kosovo to enable them to comply with the social distancing measures the Government has introduced to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. This component will fund the Social Assistance Scheme (SAS) to (i) ensure that existing social assistance payments are delivered on time, given the emerging fiscal constraints the country faces; (ii) finance an increase in the value of the benefits provided to SAS beneficiaries to assist them to meet their basic needs in face for rising health care costs and loss of other income sources; and (iii) expand the coverage of the SAS to additional households, which have lost their sources of income as result of the pandemic and do not receive support from other government programs. Component 3 will fund the consultancy and operating costs required to deliver the emergency project at a rapid speed, while ensuring that the systems are transparent and accountable, well communicated to the general public and responsive to feedback from communities.