ArmInfo. An agreement was signed for Armenia to receive a $3 million grant from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) to implement the project titled "Improving Preparedness for the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Republic of Armenia: Detecting and Responding to the Threat posed by the Coronavirus." The document was signed by Tigran Khachatryan, Minister of Finance of Armenia, and Andrey Shirokov, Acting Executive Director of the EFSD Project Unit.
The project aims to ensure continuity of health care in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and to enable a rapid response to the threat of disease spread (timely testing and treatment of patients with the coronavirus) in Armenia.
In particular, the grant will finance an upgrade of the Ararat and Armavir regional offices of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the construction of a modular building of the infectious diseases centre in Vanadzor, Lori Region, including a modern intensive care unit, the preparation of a strategy, and measures to raise public awareness through the print, electronic, and social media. In addition, training courses on the management of patients with COVID-19 (as recommended by WHO protocols) will be organised for medical staff in the country.
The Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) in the amount of US $ 8.513 billion was established on June 9, 2009 by the governments of the same 6 countries. The goals of the EFSD are to assist the participating countries in overcoming the consequences of the global financial crisis, in ensuring their economic and financial stability and supporting the integration processes in the region. The EFSD member states have endowed the EDB with the functions of the Fund Manager and signed an Agreement on the management of the EFSD funds with the Bank.