01/05/2009 13:53
IDB lends Mexico $3 bln. loan to tackle swine flu
The Inter-American Development Bank has announced it would approve three billion dollars in loans for Mexico to fight the effects of the swine flu and the global economic crisis, AFP says.
The IDB also said it is giving Mexico a one million dollar grant «to support efforts to detect new cases, strengthen epidemiological surveillance systems and carry out information and operational campaigns.»
The IDB has also launched a five-million-dollar initiative, along with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), to help Central American countries «strengthen their early alert and diagnostic mechanisms to prevent the spread of the swine flu and other infectious diseases.»
The World Bank earlier announced that it had already delivered 25 million dollars of a 205 million dollar loan to Mexico to help buy medicine and supplies necessary to fight the swine flu epidemic.
Mexico on Thursday sharply raised its number of confirmed flu cases to 312, including 12 deaths.