The CARES Program will provide budget support to the government for implementing its countercyclical expenditure program for mitigating the adverse social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government's COVID-19 countercyclical expenditure program of $351 million consists of (i) COVID-19 pandemic response plan targeting the upgrading and provision of health facilities and supplies to support public health ($97 million); (ii) a COVID-19 social protection package for the vulnerable population such as the unemployed, poor and vulnerable households, gender-based violence survivors, and expatriate migrant workers, and subsidies to households on electricity and water bills ($124 million); and (iii) a COVID-19 economic response, providing subsidized working capital to the self-employed and businesses ($130 million).
| Project Name | COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program | ||||||||||||
| Project Number | 54189-001 | ||||||||||||
| Country | Maldives |
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| Project Status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Grant Loan Technical Assistance |
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| Source of Funding / Amount |
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| Strategic Agendas | Inclusive economic growth Regional integration |
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| Drivers of Change | Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Governance and capacity development |
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| Sector / Subsector |
Health / Disease control of communicable disease - Health system development Public sector management / Public expenditure and fiscal management - Social protection initiatives |
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| Gender Equity and Mainstreaming | Effective gender mainstreaming | ||||||||||||
| Description | The CARES Program will provide budget support to the government for implementing its countercyclical expenditure program for mitigating the adverse social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government's COVID-19 countercyclical expenditure program of $351 million consists of (i) COVID-19 pandemic response plan targeting the upgrading and provision of health facilities and supplies to support public health ($97 million); (ii) a COVID-19 social protection package for the vulnerable population such as the unemployed, poor and vulnerable households, gender-based violence survivors, and expatriate migrant workers, and subsidies to households on electricity and water bills ($124 million); and (iii) a COVID-19 economic response, providing subsidized working capital to the self-employed and businesses ($130 million). | ||||||||||||
| Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. On 11 March 2020, WHO characterized the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The COVID-19 infection has spread to 216 countries, areas, or territories, with 7,690,708 confirmed global cases and 427,630 deaths as of 14 June 2020. Maldives had 2035 confirmed cases, 1311 recoveries, and eight deaths as of 14 June 2020. While the public health spending in Maldives is much higher than its South Asian and Southeast Asian peers, the country is deficient in specific health sector capacities needed to contain and manage COVID-19. Moreover, Maldives is highly dependent on tourism - a sector that has been severely impacted due to the pandemic. As a result, the government estimates that GDP growth in 2020 may fall about 19 percentage points from the pre-pandemic estimate of 7.5% to 11.3%. Total government revenues will decline by at least half of the 2020 pre-pandemic estimate. The fiscal deficit in 2020 is estimated to rise to 13.7% of GDP from the pre-pandemic expectation of 6.2%. ADB estimates that up to 15.6% of the workers could lose their jobs, and the $3.2/day IPL poverty headcount ratio could increase more than three times from 0.4% in 2018 to 1.3% in 2020. The foreign exchange reserves may decline to 2.0 months of goods and non-factor services imports from 2.9 months in 2019. Even after expenditure cuts, the fiscal situation is under stress and there is a large unfunded fiscal gap. The CARES Program will provide budget support to the government for its (i) pandemic response, (ii) social protection initiatives for the vulnerable sections affected by the pandemic, and (iii) economic response, providing subsidized working capital to the self-employed and businesses. |
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| Impact | Social inclusion promoted and economic resilience improved | ||||||||||||
| Project Outcome | |
|---|---|
| Description of Outcome | Adverse socioeconomic effect of COVID-19 for poor and vulnerable groups mitigated |
| Progress Toward Outcome | |
| Implementation Progress | |
| Description of Project Outputs | COVID-19 health response measures implemented Social protection measures implemented Economic assistance measures implemented COVID-19 response governance mechanisms strengthened |
| Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | |
| Geographical Location | Nation-wide |
| Safeguard Categories | |
|---|---|
| Environment | B |
| Involuntary Resettlement | C |
| Indigenous Peoples | C |
| Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
|---|---|
| Environmental Aspects | The installation of the mostly pre-fabricated and temporary housing units for migrant workers may trigger standard construction-related environmental impacts and risks and therefore the program is categorized B for environmental safeguards. |
| Involuntary Resettlement | |
| Indigenous Peoples | |
| Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
| During Project Design | |
| During Project Implementation | |
| Business Opportunities | |
|---|---|
| Consulting Services | The TA will hire experts in monitoring and evaluation, environment, gender, and public financial management to support the government in achieving the desired outcomes. |
| Procurement | ADB has been working closely with the Ministry of Health, and in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF, on the procurement of critical medical equipment and supplies. |
| Responsible ADB Officer | Nakane, Masato |
| Responsible ADB Department | South Asia Department |
| Responsible ADB Division | Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Div, SARD |
| Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Finance (formerly Ministry of Finance and Treasury) [email protected] Ameenee Magu, Block 379, Male', Republic of Maldives |
| Timetable | |
|---|---|
| Concept Clearance | - |
| Fact Finding | 20 Apr 2020 to 22 Apr 2020 |
| MRM | 28 May 2020 |
| Approval | 25 Jun 2020 |
| Last Review Mission | - |
| Last PDS Update | 30 Jun 2020 |
Grant 0710-MLD
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 25 Jun 2020 | 28 Jun 2020 | 28 Jun 2020 | 30 Jun 2021 | - | - |
| Financing Plan | Grant Utilization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
| Project Cost | 25.00 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
| ADB | 25.00 | 25 Jun 2020 | 25.00 | 0.00 | 100% |
| Counterpart | 0.00 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
| Cofinancing | 0.00 | 25 Jun 2020 | 25.00 | 0.00 | 100% |
Loan 3942-MLD
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 25 Jun 2020 | 28 Jun 2020 | 28 Jun 2020 | 30 Jun 2021 | - | - |
| Financing Plan | Loan Utilization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
| Project Cost | 25.00 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
| ADB | 25.00 | 25 Jun 2020 | 25.00 | 0.00 | 100% |
| Counterpart | 0.00 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
| Cofinancing | 0.00 | 25 Jun 2020 | 25.00 | 0.00 | 100% |
TA 6369-MLD
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 25 Jun 2020 | 15 Jul 2020 | 15 Jul 2020 | 30 Jun 2022 | - | - |
| Financing Plan/TA Utilization | Cumulative Disbursements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADB | Cofinancing | Counterpart | Total | Date | Amount | |||
| Gov | Beneficiaries | Project Sponsor | Others | |||||
| 500,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 500,000.00 | 25 Jun 2020 | 36,206.31 |
Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.
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| Title | Document Type | Document Date |
|---|---|---|
| Loan Agreement (Ordinary Operations [Concessional]) for Loan 3942-MLD: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program | Loan Agreement (Ordinary Resources) | Jun 2020 |
| Grant Agreement (Special Operations) for Grant 0710-MLD: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program | Grant Agreement | Jun 2020 |
| COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program: Report and Recommendation of the President | Reports and Recommendations of the President | Jun 2020 |
| Improved Implementation of the Government’s COVID-19 Response Package: Technical Assistance Report | Technical Assistance Reports | Jun 2020 |
Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.
None currently available.
Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation
None currently available.
Related Publications
None currently available.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.
Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.
Tenders
| Tender Title | Type | Status | Posting Date | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program - Environment Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | 15 Aug 2020 | 19 Aug 2020 |
| COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program - Environment Specialist (External Monitor) | Individual - Consulting | Closed | 15 Aug 2020 | 19 Aug 2020 |
| COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program - Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist (National) | Individual - Consulting | Closed | 31 Jul 2020 | 06 Aug 2020 |
| COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program - Social Development Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | 23 Jul 2020 | 29 Jul 2020 |
| COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program - Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist (International) | Individual - Consulting | Closed | 23 Jul 2020 | 29 Jul 2020 |
Contracts Awarded
No contracts awarded for this project were found
Procurement Plan
None currently available.