WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - The Inter-American Development Bank said on Thursday it would approve $3 billion in loans to Mexico this year to help the government's efforts to fight the flu and effects from the global economic crisis.
"Mexico is confronting these challenges in an effective, timely and transparent way," IADB President Luis Alberto Moreno said. "In support of those efforts, we will expand the resources for a series of programs in our pipeline and we will speed up disbursements."
The loans approved for 2009 represent nearly a tripling of the nearly $1.1 billion in loans the bank approved for Mexico last year.
The IADB said the outbreak of the new flu strain, which has killed up to 176 people in Mexico, sickened thousands and forced the shutdown of parts of its economy, could worsen Mexico's economic slowdown.
It said the IADB would support programs designed to defend the progress Mexico had made against poverty in recent years.
Other actions taken by the IADB include a $1 million grant to help detect new cases of the flu, strengthen epidemiological surveillance systems and carry out informational campaigns in Mexico.
The bank will also launch a $5 million regional initiative with the Pan American Health Organization to help Central American countries strengthen their early alert and diagnostic mechanisms to prevent the spread of the flu and other infectious diseases.
(Reporting by Deborah Charles)