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COVID-19

ADB is supporting its developing members in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak through finance, knowledge, and partnerships.

In the Spotlight

VIDEO

ADB's COVID-19 Emergency Food Program Helps the Poor in Metro Manila

Visiting the frontline of the Bayan Bayanihan emergency food program, ADB President Masa Asakawa lent a helping hand to deliver needed supplies to poor homes in Metro Manila.

PHOTO ESSAY

COVID-19: Responding to the Present Crisis, Preparing for Future Challenges

ADB is formulating an aggressive set of actions to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across Asia and the Pacific. And to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible.

VIDEO

Emergency COVID-19 Food Supply Program Launched in the Philippines' Capital

ADB and the Government of the Philippines rolled out an emergency food provision program to assist vulnerable families in Metro Manila.

VIDEO

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa Announces $6.5 Billion Initial Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

Recognizing the urgency of the global coronavirus pandemic, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa introduces ADB’s new $6.5 billion assistance package for its developing members.

ADB's Response

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53rd Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors

53rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank

20 Mar 2020 Update

Given the ongoing COVID-19 situation the 2020 Annual Meeting (AM) of the Board of Governors will now be held in two parts. A reduced-scale meeting on 22 May 2020 will be held at ADB Headquarters in Manila. Please note this is predominantly for Governors' appointed representatives to consider ADB’s financial statements and allocation of net income. A full-scale AM to be held on 18-21 September in Incheon. Further information on the Annual Meeting website.

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The Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Developing Asia

Key Messages from the April 2020 Asian Development Outlook:

  • Developing Asia’s growth will slow sharply to 2.2% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak
  • The growth decline is broad-based, affecting the People's Republic of China (PRC) and India and the rest of developing Asia’s economies
  • Risks are extremely large due to uncertain evolution and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Updated estimates of the outbreak’s impact—including on individual countries and sectors—suggest a much larger impact than previously envisioned

The impact of COVID-19 on developing Asia—an update

The ADB’s first estimates of the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak were released in early March. Since then the outbreak has become a global pandemic; the use of containment policies and travel bans has proliferated; and data from the People’s Republic of China suggest a sharp contraction there in the first quarter of 2020. Updated analysis on pages 30-41 of the April 2020 Asian Development Outlook reflects these new realities and estimates a global cost of $2.0 trillion–$4.1 trillion, equivalent to 2.3%–4.8% of global GDP. The analysis provides estimates of the impact on individual economies in developing Asia, and on sectors within them.

Detailed Assumptions

  Shorter containment, smaller demand shocks Longer containment, large demand shocks
Tourism
  • Outbound PRC tourism drops by 55% for 3 months.
  • Economies that impose travel bans on visitors from outbreak-affected economies earn no tourism receipts from these countries for 3 months.
  • Inbound tourism to outbreak-affected economies falls by 80% for 3 months.
  • Inbound tourism to Asia excluding the PRC, the Republic of Korea, and Japan falls by 40% for 3 months.
  • Inbound tourism to Europe excluding the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom falls by 30% for 3 months.
  • Outbound PRC tourism drops by 55% for 6 months.
  • Economies that impose travel bans on visitors from outbreak-affected economies earn no tourism receipts from these countries for 6 months.
  • Inbound tourism to outbreak-affected economies falls by 80% for 6 months.
  • Inbound tourism to Asia excluding the PRC, the Republic of Korea, Japan falls by 40% for 6 months.
  • Inbound tourism to Europe excluding the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom falls by 30% for 6 months.
Consumption
  • Growth in domestic consumption in the PRC slows by 5 percentage points.
  • Growth in domestic consumption in outbreak-affected economies excluding the PRC declines by 2 percentage points.
  • Growth in domestic consumption in outbreak-affected economies declines by 5 percentage points.
Investment
  • Growth in domestic investment in the PRC declines by 6.25 percentage points.
  • Growth in domestic investment in outbreak-affected economies excluding the PRC declines by 2 percentage points.
  • Growth in domestic investment in outbreak-affected economies declines by 6.25 percentage points.

Note: Outbreak-affected economies are Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union (notably France, Germany, Spain, and Italy), Iran, Japan, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak

Developing Asian Economies

Most developing Asian economies are already responding to the COVID-19 outbreak in various ways. Many governments have mobilized inter-agency task forces and other coordinating mechanisms to ensure a harmonized response. To help protect their citizens, a number of ADB developing members have implemented various forms of travel restrictions or advisories, strengthened screening procedures and quarantine policies, and undertaken repatriation of their nationals from outbreak-affected countries. Countries are also strengthening their health systems by implementing contact tracing when needed, ensuring adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, strengthening laboratory capacities, and ensuring adequate communication of risks. Importantly, in light of the findings in this brief, many countries are already undertaking supportive macroeconomic policies. Many ADB developing members have cut interest rates, continuing a cycle of easing that began in 2019, and others are also putting in place supportive fiscal measures.

How ADB is Helping

ADB is supporting its members in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak through finance, knowledge, and partnerships.

Finance

ADB support on the financing side includes an approved $2 million technical assistance (TA) grant to support the PRC and the Greater Mekong Subregion to prevent, detect, and respond to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and future communicable disease outbreaks, and a $2 million regional TA grant for all developing members to support response activities in the region. Private sector engagement is being supported through an $18.6 million short-term loan facility to a private Chinese pharmaceutical distributor in Wuhan that is responsible for centralized procurement and distribution of medical supplies in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak. A reallocation of existing resources is also taking place, as ADB has several health projects in the region totaling $469 million and some of this can be reallocated in response to the outbreak. ADB stands ready to provide additional support to its developing members via countercyclical support programs, emergency assistance loans, and other instruments, if needed.

Knowledge and Partnerships

On the knowledge side, this initial economic impact assessment is but one part of ADB’s work, and further analysis of the COVID-19 outbreak and its effects will continue as earlier noted in this brief. Furthermore, ADB has been convening partnerships, including various experts’ meetings in partnership with WHO and involving other international partners. ADB is supporting the establishment of an expert advisory group to inform and guide specific developing member responses, regional mitigation and control measures, and ADB’s overall response strategy. The group will also recommend future measures to increase resilience to disease outbreaks.