The Public Health Ministry has submitted a request to utilize a loan of 51 billion baht from the 45 billion baht allocated for medical and public health, along with an additional 18 billion baht for quarantine expenses and 3.6 billion baht for emergency COVID-19 prevention. The Cabinet has already approved three projects totaling 101 million baht.

A report from the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) revealed the progress in considering the proposal to utilize loans under the Emergency Decree granting the Ministry of Finance the authority to borrow 1 trillion baht for economic relief and recovery from the impacts of COVID-19, specifically the 45 billion baht set aside for medical and public health projects.
 
The Loan Expenditure Screening Committee (LESC) has received proposals for loan expenditures from both internal and external agencies within the Ministry of Public Health, totaling 51.9 billion baht. This includes 41 projects from agencies under the Ministry of Public Health amounting to 43.9 billion baht and 193 projects from external agencies totaling 8.05 billion baht, which can be categorized into five plans:
 
1. To cover expenses for compensation, risk allowances for medical and public health personnel, and related parties, as well as costs for procuring experts both domestically and internationally. This includes 11 projects with a total budget of 11.3 billion baht, divided into one project from the Ministry of Public Health amounting to over 10 billion baht and ten projects from external agencies totaling 1.33 billion baht.
 
2. A plan to procure medical and public health equipment, medicines, vaccines, and laboratory facilities, comprising 72 projects with a total budget of 7.41 billion baht.
 
3. A plan to support necessary expenses for disease treatment, prevention, and control, including medical and public health research and development, with a budget of 11 billion baht.
 
4. A plan for hospital preparedness and expenses related to medical treatment and quarantine for individuals at risk of COVID-19 infection, consisting of 26 projects with a total budget of 18.4 billion baht, divided into six government projects totaling 17.4 billion baht and 20 external agency projects amounting to 1.05 billion baht.
 
5. A plan to respond to emergency situations arising from the COVID-19 outbreak, consisting of 66 projects with a budget of 3.6 billion baht.
 
 
As for the projects that the Cabinet has already approved for the Ministry of Public Health and Medical budget, there are three projects with a total budget of 101.83 million baht, including: 1. A project to enhance the production capacity and quality control of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals for COVID-19 with a budget of 48.65 million baht; 2. A project to enhance the testing laboratory capacity for disinfectant products to address the COVID-19 situation by the Department of Medical Sciences with a budget of 2.9 million baht; and 3. A project to develop medical tools for preventing and detecting COVID-19 with a budget of 50.2 million baht.