This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
On June 29, 2020, the World Bank Board approved a $55 million International Development Assistance (IDA) grant for Somalia to fast track economic recovery and policy reforms.
The grant, which was approved on Tuesday, aims to help the country battle multiple crises, including the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, locust invasion, and flooding.
According to World Bank country manager for Somalia Hugh Riddell, the budget support will help protect lives and livelihoods and strengthen the capacity of Somali institutions to respond to the triple crisis.
With Somalia's eligibility for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative approved by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on March 25, the country has access to IDA instruments, removing constraints on economic growth and poverty reduction.
The World Bank's monetary aid will also support Somalia's revised 2020 budget, which includes cash transfers to vulnerable households and grants to sub-national governments to help them respond to the pandemic.
As Somalia's Minister of Finance Abdirahman Beileh noted, the revised budget expands cash transfers to vulnerable households and provides a substantial increase in grants to sub-national governments to help them respond to the pandemic in the face of declining revenue.
The Somalia re-engagement and reform supplemental Development Policy Financing is one component of the World Bank Group's comprehensive response to the multiple crises Somalia is facing.
