World Bank Group Deploys $20.7 Billion to Tackle Overlapping Challenges in Latin America

Washington: As Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean continue to deal with the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank Group (WBG) deployed $20.7 billion to support the region in its just-completed fiscal year
 
This brings the WBG support to the region since April 2020, to an unprecedented total of $49.8 billion to fight the health, economic, and social impacts of COVID-19, as well as support the region’s response to the overlapping challenges of the sharp economic slowdown, rising inflation and deepening food insecurity due to the war in Europe, among others.
 
The WBG commitments during this period included a combined $24.9 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), typically referred to as the World Bank, $19.5 billion from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to promote private sector led sustainable development, and $5.4 billion in guarantees by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

“The World Bank Group has provided strong support to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, reaching a record $49.8 billion in total lending since the pandemic began,” said World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Carlos Felipe Jaramillo in a press release on Thursday.
 
“As we look beyond COVID, our region faces important challenges and we are committed to working together in critical areas such as addressing education losses, regaining fiscal sustainability, strengthening health, acting on the climate change agenda, and fostering climate-smart agriculture and the digital economy, to build a more sustainable and inclusive growth that benefits the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, especially the most vulnerable,” he added.
 
The World Bank’s financing and expertise this past fiscal year focused on social protection, vaccine procurement and deployment, strengthening countries’ health systems, supporting fiscal sustainability, and a green recovery.
 
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, total WBG financing has reached $272 billion to help public and private sector clients fight the health, economic, and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

(WAH)