October 17, (THEWILL) – The World Bank Group (WBG) has disclosed that it committed $157 billion to protect the poor and vulnerable as its response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in the 2021 fiscal year.
It said the measure has helped to expand social protection, support businesses, preserve and create jobs and help over 100 countries on emergency health response, as well as strengthening health systems.
These disclosures were contained in the communique of the Group’s Development Committee meeting held on October 15, 2021 and made available to THEWILL.
The Group said it took an extensive review of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, especially on the severe impact on low-income countries and the stress on the middle-income countries’ efforts to return to growth.
It noted that their economies remain below pre-pandemic GDP levels and are falling further behind as the Group intensifies efforts to push vaccines into the global space to ameliorate the unhealthy situation.
“The global economy is experiencing an uneven recovery, with uncertainty about the path of the pandemic. Low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs) continue to see high COVID-19 caseloads, risks of new variants, vaccine supply bottlenecks, and obstacles to vaccination.
“Their economies remain below pre-pandemic GDP levels and are falling further behind. Volatile commodity prices, supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, and constraints on fiscal space have further complicated policy options,” the group said in a 16-point communiqué issued on Friday.
It commended the World Bank Group (WBG) for its largest crisis response in history, stating that the World Bank Group (WBG) committed $157 billion to protect the poor and vulnerable.
“Through fiscal year 2021, the WBG committed $157 billion to protect the poor and vulnerable, expand social protection, support businesses, and preserve and create jobs, while helping over 100 countries on emergency health response and strengthening health systems.
“The pandemic has reversed progress on the twin goals of ending extreme poverty and achieving shared prosperity in a sustainable manner, as well as on the SDGs. An estimated 100 million more people have fallen into extreme poverty, about 80 per cent of them in MICs. Millions of jobs have been lost, while informality, underemployment, and food insecurity have increased.
“Children, especially girls, have lost schooling and educational gaps are widening, with long-term risks for human capital. Women’s economic and social situation has worsened, underscoring the importance of promoting gender equality through recovery. The pandemic has also heightened vulnerabilities in LICs, MICs, and in situations of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV).”
The meeting noted that the pandemic demonstrates the importance of investing in crisis prevention, preparedness, and response, adding that all countries face risks, including pandemics, natural disasters, and climate-related events.
Working with development partners, the WBG said it is uniquely positioned to help in key areas: including, strengthening fiscal frameworks to better implement countercyclical policies, fostering human capital and developing quality and volume of infrastructure.
Other areas include increasing access to energy, building robust health and social protection systems, and enabling digital infrastructure, which are essential to reinforcing country resilience.
It said the WBG should continue supporting a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery, in line with longer-term objectives for sustainable development.
The body explained that “Climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation have compounded the pandemic’s effects on poverty reduction, inequality, human capital, migration and gender equality, promising to step up support for domestic resource mobilization and public spending.
“With resources scarce, the WBG, along with other IFIs, should advise on essential reforms, help enhance equitable domestic resource mobilization and the quality of public spending, combat illicit financial flows, foster an enabling environment for private and public investments, and work to strengthen institutions.
“We affirm the importance of WBG support for job creation and economic transformation as part of a broad agenda for green, resilient, and inclusive development. We support further mechanisms to increase the WBG’s climate finance, including from private sources.
“We ask the WBG and the IMF to deepen their diagnosis of the needs in LICs and MICs on a case-by-case basis, along with policy support and innovative financing instruments to rebuild better. We ask the WBG to assess its support to MICs, which have been hit hard by the pandemic,” the communiqué stated.
About the Author
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
