The European Investment Bank (EIB), via the EIB Institute, has granted an exceptional donation of €250 000 to help Tunisia cope with the health crisis and to bolster its strategy against COVID-19.
These funds — which will be managed by two non-governmental organisations (Unicef Luxembourg and the Red Cross) in collaboration with the local offices of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and Unicef together with the EIB Representation to Tunisia — will be directed towards the purchase of oxygen concentrators and the recruitment of medical teams for a six-month mission to assist people living in rural areas and unable to travel to hospitals for the care they need.
“Given the exceptional health situation, it is important to act quickly and meet the most urgent needs for both equipment and the care of isolated people in rural areas. This new initiative launched together with Unicef/WHO and the International Red Crescent shows the decisive action the EIB is taking to help Tunisia, a country with which the EU bank has developed a strategic partnership and a bond of trust over many years,” said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix.
This assistance is part of the programme of measures taken by the European Union and its Member States to support Tunisia's fight against the coronavirus.
As the health crisis worsened in Tunisia in 2021, the European Union and the Member States mobilised exceptional emergency assistance. Almost 1.3 million vaccine doses and 8 million face masks, together with antigen tests, oxygen concentrators, care beds, ambulances and other essential medical equipment have already been delivered.
As the EU bank, the EIB grants loans on favourable terms to finance investment projects in more than 80 countries across the world. It makes exceptional donations to assist countries in the event of natural or humanitarian disasters. Since the emergence of COVID-19, the EIB has made €1 million in donations to non-governmental organisations fighting the pandemic and to scientific research institutes.