The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $20 million loan to support Bhutan’s efforts to stimulate the economy, protect public health, and mitigate the effects of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on its people.
“ADB commends the government’s quick actions in implementing strong public health measures for effective outbreak containment and formulating a pro-poor economic contingency plan to counteract the adverse impact of the pandemic on the people and the economy,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “This budget support will help the government implement its plans and ensure effective targeting of vulnerable groups, building on ADB’s ongoing projects and long-standing development assistance to Bhutan in strengthening public health, and public sector and macroeconomic management.”
The COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program will contribute to the government’s measures to mitigate the immediate adverse effects of the pandemic on the population and businesses. This will be achieved through livelihood support and relief measures for vulnerable groups, including displaced employees, unemployed people actively seeking employment, and self-employed individuals in the informal sector, most of whom are women. The program will also support the government’s countercyclical measures and economic stimulus for the productive sectors.
Bhutan has formulated an Economic Contingency Plan to mitigate the impact of the pandemic through a pro-poor countercyclical support package. The stringent measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in an unprecedented decline in economic activity, including a standstill in industry, particularly tourism which contributes 13% to the country’s gross domestic product. An estimated 11,800 employees in the tourism and allied industries, such as airlines, hotels, restaurants, and tour operators, are expected to be adversely affected.
Original source: ADB
Published on 04 May 2020
