WB: Azerbaijan taken swift steps to tackle COVID pandemic

Azerbaijan is among the countries that have taken immediate steps to address the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, a World Bank representative Levent Yener said at the presentation of the report "Protecting Human Capital from Shocks and Crises"

"As part of the targeted social assistance program, the government has allocated 4.5 million manats ($2.6 million). Azerbaijan has paid unemployment benefits and carried out financing measures in other areas. But they are not enough. The ahare of targeted social assistance receivers is 17% in Azerbaijan. And this number is much bigger in the world," Yener added.

"Azerbaijan has provided support to students to overcome the effects of the pandemic. However, middle- and low-income families have problems participating in these programs. That is, some of them do not have access to a computer or the Internet at home. During the pandemic, Azerbaijan also took immediate steps in the health sector. We will see the benefits of these measures in the coming years," he added.