The African Development Bank (AfDB) on April 1 approved $2-million in emergency assistance for the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This will help reinforce the organisation’s capacity to help African countries contain the Covid-19 pandemic and mitigate its impacts.
More specifically, the grant will be used by the world body to equip more than 40 African countries to prevent, rapidly detect, investigate, contain and manage detected cases of Covid-19.
The emergency assistance is one of several of the bank’s interventions to help member countries address the pandemic which is straining already fragile health systems.
The grant forms part of a $50-million WHO preparedness and response plan, which other partners are also supporting, including the United Nations.
During the last week of March, the AfDB raised an exceptional $3-billion in a three-year social bond, the proceeds of which will go to help alleviate the economic and social effects of the pandemic in Africa. It is the largest dollar-denominated social bond launched in international capital markets to date.
Meanwhile, AfDB received an award for its successful one-billion Norwegian krone social bond issued last year. An independent panel comprising 30 of the world’s largest green, social and sustainability bond investors presented the Environmental Finance 2020 bond award to the bank.
This bond issue was the first social bond ever issued in the Norwegian market and the bank’s first transaction in Norwegian krone. The proceeds was used towards poverty reduction, job creation and inclusive growth.
The AfDB was recognised as the second-most impressive social sustainability bond issuer at the Global Capital Socially Responsible Investments Awards.