The World Bank approved a suite of groundbreaking tools to help developing countries better respond to crises and strengthen preparedness for future shocks. These new tools will further expand the Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit unveiled recently, empowering nations in a world where crises have become the “new normal,” driving impactful development, and ultimately contributing to creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet.
The expanded Crisis Toolkit fills gaps based on lessons learned from previous crisis response and substantially expands tools available to countries to ensure comprehensive protection in times of crisis. The newest tools will offer countries:
Fast access to cash for emergency response, which will be done through flexible resource reallocation. This will include the Rapid Response Option, allowing countries to quickly repurpose a portion of their unused Bank financing across their portfolio to address emergency needs when a crisis occurs. For instance, in the event of a hurricane, a government will have the capability to efficiently repurpose undisbursed funds from long-term infrastructure projects like roads and bridges to ensure the immediate availability of food and shelter for its citizens.
Substantially scaled up access to pre-arranged financing for World Bank Group emergency response, strengthening countries’ financial capacity and preparedness for future crises. The Bank will provide new flexibility to help countries put in place more contingent resources in preparation to future crises. It will also expedite access to new financing for budget support when disasters hit. This will equip them with immediately accessible money to manage the impact of a disaster and support their citizens, with fewer trade-offs between their development priorities and emergency financing needs. Countries will undertake crisis preparedness reforms and other institutional strengthening measures to further leverage these new tools.
The post World Bank Group expands crisis toolkit for developing countries appeared first on DailyNews.