ADB: $6.5-B ‘rescue’ for developing member-countries grappling with COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has made available a total of $6.5 billion in financial assistance to both the public and private sectors of its developing member-countries, which included the Philippines, to boost the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement Wednesday, the ADB said the initial “rescue” package was comprised of $3.6 billion in “sovereign operations for a range of responses to the health and economic consequences of the pandemic,” on top of $1.6 billion in “nonsovereign operations for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, domestic and regional trade, and firms directly impacted.”

“The ADB will also mobilize about $1 billion in concessional resources through reallocations from ongoing projects and assessing possible needs for contingencies. The ADB will make available $40 million in technical assistance and quick-disbursing grants,” it said.

“To provide the support package to developing member-countries as quickly and flexibly as possible, the ADB will seek adjustment in its financing instruments and business processes. Subject to approval by the ADB’s board of directors, this will include faster access to emergency budget support for economies facing severe fiscal constraints, streamlined procedures for policy-based lending, and universal procurement with flexible and faster processes,” it added.

“This pandemic has become a major global crisis. It requires forceful action at national, regional, and global levels. With our developing member-countries, we are 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 our members and peer institutions, we are deploying this $6.5-billion rescue package to meet the immediate needs of our members,” ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said.

“The 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,” Asakawa added.

Since February, the ADB already provided over $225 million in assistance to member-countries, sectors, as well as firms grappling with the COVID-19 outbreak.

The ADB has a total of 68 member-countries, including 49 in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the case of the Philippines, the ADB had provided its host-country with a $3-million grant so that the Department of Health (DOH) can buy additional medical supplies and equipment, deliver health services, and also minimize the social and economic disruptions caused by the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The ADB’s estimates had shown that the Philippine economy could shed between $669 million and $1.939 billion as well as lose at least 87,000 up to 252,000 jobs across five sectors no thanks to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 disease.