MANILA - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday announced a $6.5 billion initial package to address the immediate needs of its developing member countries (DMCs) as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This pandemic has become a major global crisis. It requires forceful action at national, regional, and global levels," ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said in a statement.

He added the Manila-based bank said formulating "an aggressive set of actions to combat the pandemic; to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across the region; and to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible."

Based on close dialogue with ADB members and peer institutions, Asakawa said ADB is deploying this $6.5 billion "rescue package to meet the immediate needs of its members."

Asawaka stressed that "ADB stands ready to provide further financial assistance and policy advice down the road whenever the situation warrants, on top of the $6.5 billion package."

According to the ADB, the initial package includes approximately $3.6 billion in sovereign operations for a range of responses to the health and economic consequences of the pandemic, and $1.6 billion in nonsovereign operations for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, domestic and regional trade, and firms directly impacted.

ADB said it will also mobilize about $1 billion in concessional resources through reallocations from ongoing projects and assessing possible needs for contingencies.

ADB will make available $40 million in technical assistance and quick-disbursing grants, ADB added.

Since its first COVID-19 response on Feb 7, ADB said it has already provided more than $225 million to meet urgent needs of both governments and businesses in DMCs.