Rapid Assessment of World Bank COVID-19 Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach

The World Bank supports around 100 country responses to COVID-19 through loans and grants totalling over USD 6 billion. Funding is based either on the Multi-phase Programmatic Approach (MPA) model or through restructuring existing projects. The WB intends to assess the pertinence of the original proposals, which had been developed based on information available at that time, and under considerable time constraints. The WB also wants to document whether the funds are effectively supporting the pandemic response as intended, complementing domestic and other international funding and, being managed according to agreed standards. Special consideration is on the impact of spending on COVID-19 response and broader epidemic preparedness. Aim: to assess how far the Covid-19 projects under the MPA framework have reached their overarching objective to contribute to prevention, detection and response to COVID-19 and strengthen national health and surveillance systems, complemented by efforts to alleviate the economic burden of containment measures on households. Objective: describe WB financing within overall national responses and indicate ways to improve the quality, effectiveness and impact of program design, and rationalize the choice of intervention in the light of the latest epidemiological and scientific evidence, and strengthen implementation in a timely manner.