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World Bank Group announces up to USD 12 Billion for COVID-19 country response

Wednesday 4 March 2020 13:13 CET | News

The World Bank Group is making available up to USD 12 billion to assist countries coping with the health and economic impacts of the global COVID-19 outbreak. 

 

This financing is designed to help member countries take effective action to respond to and, where possible, lessen the impacts posed by the COVID-19 (coronavirus). Through this new fast track package, the World Bank Group will help developing countries strengthen health systems, including better access to health services to safeguard people from the epidemic, strengthen disease surveillance, bolster public health interventions, and work with the private sector to reduce the impact on economies. The financial package, with financing drawn from across IDA, IBRD and IFC, will be globally coordinated to support country-based responses.


The COVID-19 support package will make available initial crisis resources of up to USD 12 billion in financing — USD 8 billion of which is new — on a fast track basis. This comprises up to USD 2.7 billion new financing from IBRD; USD 1.3 billion from IDA, complemented by reprioritization of USD 2 billion of the Bank’s existing portfolio; and USD 6 billion from IFC, including USD 2 billion from existing trade facilities. It will also include policy advice and technical assistance drawing on global expertise and country-level knowledge.

The financial package will provide grants and low-interest loans from IDA for low income countries and loans from IBRD for middle income countries, using all of the Bank’s operational instruments with processing accelerated on a fast track basis. International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, will provide its clients with the necessary support to continue operating and to sustain jobs. 

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Keywords: The World Bank Group, World Bank, COVID-19, coronavirus, IDA, IBRD, IFC, International Finance Corporation, lending, low-interest loan
Categories: Banking & Fintech
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Banking & Fintech