How are Multilateral Development Banks responding to the COVID-19 crisis?
BIC welcomes the swift response by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to the crisis caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. As we expand our work to monitor this response, we encourage these institutions to maintain robust standards of transparency and accountability, seek innovative ways to engage with communities, and manage the environmental and social risks associated with their programs. Our updates below analyze the MDBs' response to COVID-19, while we urge them to pursue a strong global recovery that supports sustainable, inclusive communities.
What should the World Bank prioritize in its response to COVID-19?
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank Group has taken steps to mobilize a significant amount of financing to support both borrowing countries and private sector clients impacted by the economic downturn and the health emergency. While we applaud the World Bank’s swift response to the crisis, we also strongly encourage the institution to maintain robust standards for transparency and accountability, as well as managing the environmental and social risks associated with their programs. Communities must continue to have access to information about projects and programs that impact their lives and continue to be engaged on their potential benefits and risks.
How can development institutions adapt stakeholder engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Development institutions including the World Bank Group are mobilizing resources to support governments’ responses to the health and economic crises resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, some of the most effective forms of communication and consultation with communities and project stakeholders are not feasible. We propose some ideas on how the World Bank Group and other institutions can adapt their engagement practices during this crisis.
How can the African Development Bank include marginalized groups in COVID-19 project benefits?
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has introduced measures aimed at supporting African countries to curb the spread of COVID-19 and cushion its negative impacts on economies and livelihoods. However, in view of the urgency of the situation, project design and implementation may overlook certain essential aspects such as the inclusion of poor communities and marginalized groups in meaningful stakeholder engagement for shared benefits.
As the World Bank responds to COVID-19, how can we protect children?
While the world responds to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank and borrowing countries face a novel set of challenges on an unprecedented scale. The World Bank and implementing agencies must make child protection, and specifically preventing child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), a priority in all COVID-19 emergency response and recovery projects or risk exacerbating precarious situations.
How can the World Bank respond to both COVID-19 and the climate crisis?
The World Bank has a special leadership role, as a global development finance institution, in promoting global goods, whether eradicating infectious disease or protecting a livable planet. How can it best do these things?
By starting now, we will reduce the future disruption to our lives and our economies. Let us take this and other lessons from the pandemic. We have the solutions. We need to apply them.
How can marginalized groups share in COVID-19 response project benefits?
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are seeking World Bank financing for emergency response projects from its $14 billion COVID-19 support package. Most of these projects will immediately serve to bolster the needs of countries’ health systems to cope with the virus, yet they will soon be followed by additional projects aimed at addressing the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic. The World Bank should carefully consider how projects in both the health response and economic recovery phases of its support package address the needs of marginalized groups.
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