ISLAMABAD: The United States government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will contribute $7 million to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) ongoing support for Ehsaas Programme, addressing the secondary effects of the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan.

In this regard, USAID mission director Julie Koenen and ADB country director Yong Ye attended a signing ceremony in Islamabad, a statement issued by the US Embassy said.

The ADB will use USAID’s $7 million contribution to provide cash grants to Pakistani families in need of financial assistance due to the pandemic.

The grants will be distributed through the government of Pakistan’s Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme managed by the Benazir Income Support Fund Programme.

The USAID’s fund also will provide technical and administrative support to ensure effectiveness, accountability, and transparency for the programme beneficiaries.

Koenen said: “Fighting this pandemic will take significant resources and an urgent, collective effort among governments, civil society, the private sector, philanthropists, multilateral organisations, and other international partners.”

“This contribution to [the] ADB will support the government of Pakistan’s efforts to implement the Ehsaas Programme through the provision of direct cash grants to underprivileged Pakistani families affected by [the] closures and work stoppages during the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

The $7 million contribution to the ADB is part of an overall US commitment to assist countries affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The United States has delivered more than $63 million in the Covid-19 assistance through partnership with the Pakistani government.

Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has worked together with Pakistan to improve infection prevention and control, enhance patient care, expand laboratory testing, and support frontline healthcare workers, the statement added.