"We are carrying out rapid country assessments of our developing member countries to see how prepared they are in combating SARS, assess the immediate impact of SARS on their economies, how the countries are addressing their concerns and where the gaps are," Clay Wescott, the ADB's senior public administration specialist, told reporters.

The ADB board is considering the provision of 7-million-dollar grants to SARS-hit developing members, bank officials said Monday, adding that the bank is also convincing some of its members to reallocate ADB loans of around 20 million dollars as an emergency move to contain SARS.

Wescott said China as the most heavily hit nation would receive an emergency technical assistance grant of 2 million dollars to curb the spread of SARS there.

Wescott said another 21 members aside from China were eligible for the ADB's special grants and loans, and that the bank was prepared to "take shortcuts" to speed up the approval process.

Also on Monday, the ADB said in a press statement that its multidisciplinary task force is now assessing the impact of SARS in Asia and the Pacific, and the task force has developed options to help its developing members through grants and concessional loans.

In partnership with the World Health Organization and others, the ADB said it is studying the impact of SARS on the region's economies and on its own operations, with a particular focus on the economic, social and psychological impacts on the populations of the countries most affected by the disease.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2003)