WB Commits $512.5m for Adaptive Safety Net

Dec 5 , 2020

The World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) and the Ministry of Finance have signed an agreement for 512.5 million dollars for the implementation of the Strengthen Ethiopia's Adaptive Safety Net Project.  Ahmed Shide, minister of Finance, and Ousmane Dione, World Bank Group Country Director for Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan, signed the agreement last week. The financing is expected to support the country's Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and locust emergency response efforts. The majority of the funds, 312.5 million dollars, has been allotted as a grant, while the remaining has been pledged as a loan. A portion of the funding, 12.5 million dollars, was sourced from the Bank's special Window for Crisis Response. The initiative aims to contribute to the government's Productive Safety Net Programme by creating technology-based delivery systems, enhancing the shock responsive elements of the Productive Safety Net Programme, and increasing geographical coverage. The Programme will also work on long-term efforts to fight livelihood challenges and advance the government's early childhood development agenda. The World Bank has been supporting the Productive Safety Net Programme for the past 15 years, and the government has pledged to contribute a further 600 million dollars to the Programme over the coming five years.