The World Bank has approved US$37 million (about K27.2 billion) funding to support Malawi’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and smooth out the macro-economic shocks that the disease is expected to impose on the Government’s finances.

World Bank Country Manager for Malawi Greg Toulmin outlined that the funding is aimed at supporting the Government of Malawi’s economic policy response by mitigating likely revenue shortfalls, as well as helping to address critical care needs for COVID-19 response.

The new COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness project is designed to support Malawi’s National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19 by strengthening disease surveillance systems and capacity for early detection and confirmation of cases, equipping treatment centers and quarantine units, and training health workers and rapid response teams.

Meanwhile, Malawi is preparing for a 21 day lockdown issued by the government, as informal vendors have been protesting the directive, stating it as inconsiderate of hand-to-mouth individuals.