Countries in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) were among the first and hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the World Bank swiftly executed a comprehensive strategy, channelling funds into emergency operations, training medical staff, and reinforcing national public health systems.
This approach included reallocating existing project resources, triggering emergency components, and activating Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Options (CAT DDOs) tailored to each country’s unique context and epidemic status.
The World Bank committed USD 1.9 billion across 18 COVID-19 health response projects in the EAP region from April 2020 to October 2022.
Notably, the Philippines received 33 million vaccine doses (13 per cent of the total supply), while Mongolia procured vaccines to inoculate up to 66 per cent of its population with two doses.
With World Bank support, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic achieved a 76 per cent full vaccination rate, and 94 per cent of COVID-19 testing samples were reported within 48 hours of testing.
The EAP region faced significant disruptions, with the World Bank estimating that the COVID-19 shock could push an additional 38 million people into poverty in 2020.
The impact on sales, employment, and productivity growth, particularly affecting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), necessitated urgent intervention.(ANI)
