The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is contributing USD1 million to help China control the spread of COVID-19. The amount comprises donations from AIIB staff and matching funds from the Bank.
The contribution was used to purchase medical equipment to help frontline health care professionals battling the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and Beijing. AIIB has been sourcing medical supplies from around the world, including 51,000 medical masks, 46,000 protective clothing, 17,000 surgery aprons, 21,000 boxes of surgery gloves and other medical and epidemic prevention supplies with a total weight of 40 tons. The first batch of materials is delivered to Wuhan and Beijing on Feb. 24, 2020, with other batches to follow.
“AIIB’s management and staff stand by the Chinese people,” said AIIB President and Chair of the Board Jin Liqun. “We are ready to offer our help to the best of our ability. We want to do our part as residents of China to help stop the epidemic’s spread.”
AIIB also announced on Feb. 10, 2020 that it has been in active discussions with the Government of China to strengthen the country’s emergency public health infrastructure and help meet its immediate and longer-term public health needs.