This July 18, the National Assembly, dominated by Ortega, approved through an extraordinary session a loan for 116 million dollars financed by the World Bank (WB), through the International Development Association (IDA), for the execution of the so-called “COVID-19 Emergency Response Project”.
“With the Additional Financing, the total cost of the project increases from US$20,000,000.00 to US$136 million. The closing date of this program is June 30, 2025,” explained Sandinista deputy Adolfo Pastrán. He also affirms that the program is made up of the provision of supplies and medical equipment and essential laboratories.
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He states that “the cost of the component increases from US$20 million to US$136 million” and explains that one of the elements of the project will now have three subcomponents “to incorporate additional activities related to the acquisition and deployment of vaccines, as well as with the strengthening of the health system.
The initiative was introduced on July 15 with an “urgent procedure” by Daniel Ortega, who stated as reasons that in Nicaragua “significant progress has been made in improving the health status of its population and these achievements must be preserved as engines of growth sustainable economic development and poverty reduction.
Pastran affirms that they seek the acquisition of more vaccines “through the WHO (World Health Organization) through the use of options that benefit the country in terms of quality and cost.” In addition to the installation of high-efficiency equipment that “helps reduce the economic burden of establishments.”
The loan will be executed by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (MHCP), through the General Coordination of Programs and Projects (CGPP), the Ministry of Health (Minsa) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). .
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In 2020, a $20 million loan was approved to “combat the pandemic” that was also requested from the World Bank, totaling $136 million. However, since the arrival of the pandemic in the country, a “state of emergency” has not been decreed, nor have any measures been taken by the government to curb contagion.
Despite the fact that the Ortega and Murillo regime continues to promote the house-to-house vaccine to avoid further contagion of COVID-19, it continues to call for massive activities, where social distancing is not put into practice. Every Friday, the Vice President of Nicaragua, Rosario Murillo, announces thousands of massive activities for the weekends, actions that are criticized as “irresponsible” in the face of the health crisis in the country.
Opposition groups and medical associations have also criticized the regime’s handling of the pandemic, including the concealment of information, false data on deaths and infections, and the promotion of virus proliferation events.
