At a multilateral webinar, the National Audit Office (NAO) gave a presentation on Bahrain's measures in dealing with the challenges caused by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
During this on-line seminar on “Covid-19: Business and Industry Support, Digitalization and Innovation Development” organized by the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation, which is currently the chair of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), Mr. Ahmed Buti, Audit Manager at the Regulatory Audit Directorate, indicated the precautions and health measures Bahrain had taken on top of the financial assistance it had provided to its citizens and to various market sectors to support its national economy and mitigate the effects of the pandemic.
Mr. Buti confirmed that free vaccinations were offered to both, citizens and residents, who could choose between 5 vaccines: Sinopharm, Pfizer/BioNTech, Covishield (Oxford/AstraZeneca), Sputnik V and Johnson & Johnson.
He stressed that these measures coincided with infrastructure development related to information technology to facilitate working from home.
Summing up, Mr. Buti stated that Bahrain was a successful example for the region and the international community in facing and managing the pandemic and that it had received international praise from the International Monetary Fund which declared that “Bahrain moved quickly to address the health, social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting lives and livelihoods. Swift and well-coordinated policy response have helped to limit the spread by vaccinations and target income and liquidity support to those most in need."
The on-line symposium, which was attended by more than 200 people representing the supreme audit institutions of Bahrain, China, Russia, India, Slovenia and Indonesia, discussed countries' experiences in facing the epidemic, auditing business and industry support measures, the impact of the pandemic on the economic situation in general and on different industry and business sectors in particular, especially on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
