BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced Monday that subject to the approval of its board of directors, it stands ready to support China through public health infrastructure loans to meet the government's immediate and longer-term public health needs.
AIIB has been in active discussions with the Chinese government to strengthen the country's emergency public health infrastructure.
"People from over 50 nations work at AIIB and we have all made China our home. We want to do our part as residents of China to help stop its spread," said AIIB President Jin Liqun. "In line with AIIB's mission, we will also work with the government of China to identify effective public health infrastructure investments that will prevent the rapid spread of future outbreaks."
As a way to give back to the community where AIIB's staff live and work, the bank is also matching staff donations to purchase medical equipment to help China control the spread of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (2019-nCoV).
According to the World Health Organization, "public health infrastructures contribute directly to final global public goods for health provision (e.g. sewers) and indirectly (e.g. education)." Further investment from multilateral partners, such as AIIB, can help strengthen China's public health infrastructure, which can have a lasting and global health impact.
President Jin further stated, "We look forward to working with other multilateral development banks, private partners and other funders who wish to join hands in bolstering China and other members' ability to respond to and deal with epidemics and other public health emergencies. These types of investments will not only improve the health of Chinese citizens but can have a global impact in terms of prevention and education."
AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, AIIB began operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 102 approved members worldwide. By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and beyond, AIIB will better connect people, services and markets that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better future. (Edited by Duan Jing, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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