World Bank Group to provide up to $160bn by June to address pandemic

Guided by its twin goals of ending poverty and promoting shared prosperity, as well as its Covid-19 crisis response approach paper, the World Bank Group said it expects to deploy up to $160 billion in 15 months ending June 30, 2021.

This funding, according to David Malpass, World Bank Group president and chairman, Board of Executive Directors, would be through new operations and the restructuring of existing ones to help countries address the wide range of needs arising from the pandemic.

This will include over $50 billion of International Development Association (IDA) resources on grant and highly concessional terms, Malpass said in the World Bank’s annual report for 2020.

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It consists of five institutions with a shared commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable growth and development.

Read also: Nigeria records 1,664 new COVID-19 cases, total now 94,369

They are: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) which lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries; International Development Association (IDA) which provides financing on highly concessional terms to governments of the poorest countries; International Finance Corporation (IFC) which provides loans, equity, and advisory services to stimulate private sector investment in developing countries; Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) which provides political risk insurance and credit enhancement to investors and lenders to facilitate foreign direct investment in emerging economies; and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) which provides international facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes.

The Group committed $77.078 billion in 2020 but disbursed $ 54.367 billion. The Group’s commitment to Sub Saharan Africa was $25.4 billion.

Engaging with the private sector is critical to the emergency response, and International Finance Corporation (IFC) expects to provide $47 billion in financial support through June 2021 as its part of the Group’s response.

In early 2020, the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) struck countries around the world, presenting enormous challenges to health systems and spurring widespread shutdowns, school and business closures, and job losses.