ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Health Organisation (WHO) have agreed on a joint strategy to boost pandemic response and preparedness.

This cooperation will allow countries to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats through the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) and the financial and technical support from the World Bank and WHO, according to a joint press release of the world organisations.

“The RST allows eligible member countries to access long-term financing at low interest rates to help implement reforms that address structural challenges to the stability of the economy, such as those posed by pandemics, and to enhance countries’ health systems resilience.”

The three organisations will collaborate to strengthen policy making and financial management reforms.

“In strengthening the pandemic preparedness framework, member countries will also work to improve the resilience of their health systems and their ability to respond better to all health emergencies.”

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the collaboration “will help our institutions complement and leverage each other’s expertise to help our members strengthen pandemic preparedness and enhance resilience of their health systems”.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for finding new financing sources to bolster health systems and build their capacity to prevent and detect epidemics and pandemics and respond to them.

“WHO is proud to be working with the IMF and the World Bank to unlock financing from the Resilience and Sustainability Trust, and support countries to put it to work for a safer world.”

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2024