AIIB donates $1 million to epidemic control

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) contributed $1 million to help China control the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The amount comprises donations from AIIB staff and matching funds from the bank.

The contribution was used to purchase medical equipment to help frontline healthcare professionals battling the epidemic in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province and Beijing.

AIIB has been sourcing medical supplies from around the world, including 51,000 medical masks, 46,000 items of protective clothing, 17,000 surgery aprons, 21,000 boxes of surgical gloves and other medical and epidemic prevention supplies. The first batch of materials was delivered to Wuhan and Beijing on Monday, with other batches to follow.

"AIIB's management and staff stand by the Chinese people," said Jin Liqun, AIIB president and chair of the board of directors. "We are ready to offer our help to the best of our ability. We want to do our part as residents of China to help stop the epidemic's spread."

The multilateral development bank also announced on Feb 10 that it has been in active discussions with the Chinese government to strengthen the country's emergency public health infrastructure and help meet its immediate and longer-term public health needs.

Also on Monday, HSBC announced it will donate $600,000, in addition to a previous joint donation of 7 million yuan ($995,727) by its major entities in the Chinese mainland, to help medical institutions and social welfare agencies in the regions that were heavily affected by the epidemic purchase medical equipment and protective supplies.

Making the most of its global network, HSBC has been actively looking for resources, including medical masks and protective clothing. The multinational financial institution is sending 13 negative pressure ambulances one after another to hospitals in Hubei and other regions hit hard by the epidemic, apart from purchasing 90,000 isolation gowns and other scarce supplies.