Government Provides $75.5 Million in COVID-19 Response Support to 13 Countries Including Africa

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The South Korean government announced on the 26th that it will carry out a project worth $75.5 million to support developing countries in their efforts to cope with and recover from the damage caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Ministry of Economy and Finance approved a project worth $75.5 million for a total of 13 countries, including Ethiopia and Myanmar, the day before. South Korea has been sharing its COVID-19 prevention experience and providing support to developing countries to mitigate COVID-19 damage and further build digital infrastructure such as non-face-to-face projects.

Following the first project support in Paraguay (May), this time support was decided through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), the World Bank (WB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) trust funds. This time, the target regions and scale were expanded to closely contribute to global COVID-19 cooperation, and with this approval, a total of $130 million will be supported within the year.

This EDCF project is the second project under the South Korean government’s confirmed COVID-19 ODA $400 million support policy, consisting of health and quarantine budget support programs and medical equipment supply (totaling $70 million).

Ethiopia, a country that participated in the Korean War and the largest African country in terms of EDCF support scale, is the first African case of COVID-19 response support through the EDCF. The government made efforts for rapid support, such as early consultation with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on exportable medical items and innovative revision of the equipment supply system.

This support will be promoted in the form of a cooperative loan with the African Development Bank, and it is expected to enhance Ethiopia’s COVID-19 response capacity and expand K-quarantine through the advancement of Korean medical infrastructure and personnel into Africa.

The government decided to support a total of $5.5 million (8 projects) through the World Bank (WB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) trust funds to ▲strengthen cooperation with New Northern and New Southern countries, ▲support COVID-19 response, and ▲activate non-face-to-face projects in preparation for the post-COVID era.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.