World Bank Releases US $150 Million for COVID-19 Response in Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO, April 2, 2020 – Following a request from the Government of the Dominican Republic, the World Bank released US$150 million to support the country’s efforts to implement emergency measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) and manage the impact of the pandemic.

On March 19, 2020, the Dominican Republic declared a State of Emergency that will be in place for 25 days and established a curfew for the entire territory initially through April 3 to allow the implementation of extraordinary measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.

“In recent years, the Dominican Republic has been making progress in strengthening its capacity to respond to emergencies, including for public health-related events,” said Alessandro Legrottaglie, Country Manager for the Dominican Republic. “This rapid financing demonstrates the World Bank’s commitment to supporting the Dominican Republic’s efforts to respond to the immediate health and social needs of the people in the face of an extraordinary challenge.”

The funds are disbursed from a contingent credit line from the World Bank, better known as the Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat-DDO), active since 2018. The Cat-DDO was the first of its kind in the Caribbean and supported a series of Government reforms to improve its institutional and regulatory framework for disaster resilience. Those included measures to strengthen the resilience of the health sector in compliance with international regulations mandated by the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization.

The Cat-DDO provides immediate liquidity to support a country’s efforts to recover from a natural disaster or a public health emergency.

World Bank Group COVID-19 Response

The World Bank Group is rolling out a $14 billion fast-track package<https://www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/news/coronavirus-covid19> to strengthen the COVID-19 response in developing countries and shorten the time to recovery. The immediate response includes financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to help countries cope with the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The IFC<http://www.ifc.org> is providing $8 billion in financing to help private companies affected by the pandemic and preserve jobs.

IBRD and IDA<http://www.worldbank.org> are making an initial US$6 billion available for the health-response. As countries need broader support, the World Bank Group will deploy up to $160 billion over 15 months to protect the poor and vulnerable, support businesses, and bolster economic recovery.

April 2, 2020 – World Bank Group Launches First Operations for COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Emergency Health Support, Strengthening Developing Country Responses<https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/04/02/world-bank-group-launches-first-operations-for-covid-19-coronavirus-emergency-health-support-strengthening-developing-country-responses>