Second Additional Financing to Tunisia COVID-19 Response Project

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This operation is being prepared as an emergency response using condensed procedures under the Fast Track COVID-19 Facility (FTCF).On March 2, 2020, the Government of Tunisia (GoT) confirmed its first case of COVID-19. By April 3, 2020, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 495 and 14 deaths have been reported. The GoT adopted measures to contain the spread of the virus, including suspension of all international flights, closing its borders and placing visitors from overseas under quarantine. The country banned gatherings and markets, closed cafes and restaurants, suspended all public events, closed schools and imposed a 12-hour daily curfew. The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) developed a "Preparation and Response Plan for the Risk of Introduction and Dissemination of SARS-CoV-2" as well as a manual of procedures for its implementation. The Plan is in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and covers the pillars of coordination, communication and community engagement, surveillance and case investigation, national laboratories, infection prevention and control, and case management. The implementation of the Plan is led by the National Office for New and Emerging Diseases (Office national des maladies nouvelles et emergentes - ONMNE) with close collaboration and involvement of representatives from various directorates (both at central and regional level) of the MOPH as well as national experts in the field of infectious diseases. The MOPH, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other Development Partners (DPs), has worked on costing and assessing needs to implement the Plan and has been coordinating to align support from different DPs. In light of this, it was determined that the MOPH would utilize domestic resources, with the support of different DPs, to cover most of the gaps identified in this assessment. However, there is still a financing gap to cover shortages in equipment and supplies necessary for testing, intensive care and infection prevention and control. In this context, the project will aim to support immediate needs and timely response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia. The GoT has requested urgent assistance from the Bank to immediately help fill the equipment and supply gaps recorded in most healthcare facilities necessary for COVID-19 response, including for testing and case management. This is particularly pertinent given the anticipated significant disruptions in global supply chains with the heightened demand for such equipment. The Bank support comes in complementarity to an existing response where the range of other necessary activities are assured by the MOPH from domestic resources and with the support of other DPs.