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Mexico to Get $205 Million in World Bank Aid to Fight Swine Flu
2009-04-26 20:55:15.728 GMT
By Joshua Goodman and Timothy R. Homan
April 26 (Bloomberg) -- The World Bank has agreed to give
Mexico $205 million in loans to help fight the swine flu
epidemic, Mexico?s Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said.
Of the amount, $25 million will be disbursed immediately,
to allow the Mexican government to buy medicine and equipment
to detect and fight the virus, which has been linked to as many
as 81 deaths in Mexico.
Carstens, speaking at a press conference following the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings, said
while it is too early to estimate the economic impact of the
epidemic, it has a ?high potential for disruption.?
In the U.S., 20 confirmed cases of swine flu have been
linked to the outbreak in Mexico, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreaks in Mexico and the U.S. warrant an urgent
assessment of the potential of the virus to spark the first
influenza pandemic in 41 years, the World Health Organization
said yesterday. The Geneva-based United Nations agency held an
emergency meeting and decided that more evidence is needed to
determine whether the level of pandemic alert should be
increased.
On another matter at the IMF-world Bank press conference,
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the fund and
Turkey are ?still working on? a new loan agreement for that
country. He said an agreement is likely in coming weeks.
Mexico to Get $205 Million in World Bank Aid to Fight Swine Flu
2009-04-26 20:55:15.728 GMT
By Joshua Goodman and Timothy R. Homan
April 26 (Bloomberg) -- The World Bank has agreed to give
Mexico $205 million in loans to help fight the swine flu
epidemic, Mexico?s Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said.
Of the amount, $25 million will be disbursed immediately,
to allow the Mexican government to buy medicine and equipment
to detect and fight the virus, which has been linked to as many
as 81 deaths in Mexico.
Carstens, speaking at a press conference following the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings, said
while it is too early to estimate the economic impact of the
epidemic, it has a ?high potential for disruption.?
In the U.S., 20 confirmed cases of swine flu have been
linked to the outbreak in Mexico, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreaks in Mexico and the U.S. warrant an urgent
assessment of the potential of the virus to spark the first
influenza pandemic in 41 years, the World Health Organization
said yesterday. The Geneva-based United Nations agency held an
emergency meeting and decided that more evidence is needed to
determine whether the level of pandemic alert should be
increased.
On another matter at the IMF-world Bank press conference,
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the fund and
Turkey are ?still working on? a new loan agreement for that
country. He said an agreement is likely in coming weeks.