Https, May 21 -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, has approved a $250 million loan to Bangladesh as the country grapples with the fallout from the novel coronavirus disease.

The loan, cofinanced with the Asian Development Bank, is part of a programme to provide the government of Bangladesh with budget support to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic on the poor and most vulnerable.

The programme also has specific targets to support women in export-oriented industries, AIIB said in a statement on Thursday.

Bangladesh is extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus given that it has one of the highest population densities in the world.

Nearly 15 percent of households continue to live in poverty, with a high share ...