Iran says it has applied for a $50 million loan from the World Bank to help its health sector cope with the new coronavirus pandemic.
This is the first time since 2005 that Iran has asked for such a loan from the World Bank, Deputy Health Minister Kamel Taqavinejad told state TV.
The Washington-based World Bank is expected to launch health emergency programs in over 100 countries by the end of April to support the fight against COVID-19, with 64 already in operation, the World Bank Group President David Malpass said Friday.
Malpass said the World Bank will work to deploy as much as $160 billion over the next 15 months, tailored to the nature of the health, economic and social shocks that countries are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That comes as Iran is the hardest-hit country by coronavirus in the Middle East with more than 83,500 people infected and over 5,000 deaths.
Soon after the virus began to spread across the country, Iran’s Ministry of Economy sent requests to multilateral development banks, in which Iran is a member, for financial and non-financial aid to combat the fatal disease.
The requests along with a list of medical goods needed to fight the infectious disease were sent to the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Development Bank and OPEC Fund for International Development.
According to Taqavinejad, Iran has requested a 130- million euro ($141 million) loan from the Islamic Development Bank for buying medical equipment. After Saudi Arabia and Libya, Iran is the largest stakeholder in the IDB.
Earlier in the month, OPEC Fund for International Development approved $500,000 in emergency grant to Iran to buy equipment needed to fight COVID-19. The aid money will be made available through the World Health Organization (WHO).
Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote last month to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to request a $5 billion emergency loan for funding Tehran’s needs to fight the novel coronavirus. The IMF has yet to respond to Iran’s request for emergency funding despite pledges made by the international body to provide around $50 billion to the countries in MENA region to fight the coronavirus.
While the IMF has said it is in dialogue with Iranian authorities to understand Iran’s needs and what is required for Tehran's demand to be processed, several reports say the Fund is under the US pressure to forego the request.