The trilateral cooperation among the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in support of the Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program is a first in the region and underscores the importance of an earlier proposal of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III for closer coordination among these three major multilateral institutions.
ADB Vice President Ahmed Saeed cited Secretary Dominguez’s leadership in bringing the three institutions together behind the Philippines’ vaccine deployment plan, which, he said “is an excellent example of development partner coordination.”
“Secretary Dominguez, you have long been the leading voice amongst MDB (multilateral development bank) Governors calling for improved coordination amongst development partners. Thank you for your strong leadership in bringing our three institutions together to support the Philippines’ vaccine deployment plan,” Vice President Saeed said during the March 29 launching of the loans extended by the three multilateral lenders to the Philippines.
The government, through the Department of Finance (DOF), was able to secure the following loans totaling US$1.2 billion (around P58.4 billion) for COVID-19 vaccine procurement: 1) US$500 million for the Philippines’ COVID-19 Emergency Response Project—Additional Financing (PCERP-AF) from the WB; 2) US$400 million Second Health System Enhancement to Address and Limit COVID-19 (HEAL 2) under the Asia Pacific Vaccine Facility of the ADB; and 3) US$300 million HEAL 2 loan from the AIIB.
These loans were simultaneously approved by the three MDBs last March 12.
In the case of the ADB, the Philippines became the first recipient of its financing support under the Bank’s Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX). The AIIB co-financed this support package with its US$300-million loan component.
Meanwhile, WB Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific Victoria Kwakwa said the additional financing of US$500 million for the PCERF is the largest vaccine support package extended by the Bank thus far under its US$12-billion facility for developing countries to help finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments for their citizens.
Vice President Kwakwa said the WB will continue to work with the ADB, AIIB, development institutions and the Philippines’ bilateral partners to support the government’s efforts in bringing safe and effective vaccines to tens of millions of Filipinos within the year.
AIIB Vice President D.J. Pandian pointed out that the close cooperation among the three MDBs and the Philippine government is necessary to ensure the success of the vaccination program.
As governor for the Philippines in the boards of the ADB, WB and the AIIB, Secretary Dominguez had, even before the coronavirus outbreak turned into a pandemic over a year ago, called on these multilateral institutions to closely coordinate their development efforts to more efficiently and effectively deliver development assistance and aid to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
He said at an ADB event four years ago that coordinating the efforts of the MDBs will also help reduce overhead costs, lower the borrowing rates for developing countries and eliminate redundancies and overlapping functions.
Secretary Dominguez first broached his proposal during ADB’s 50th Annual Meeting in Yokohama, Japan in 2017.
In that meeting, he called on the MDBs to reinvent themselves, realign their programs to meet new realities, and stay relevant amid the fast-changing development landscape.
The three multilateral institutions have responded positively to Secretary Dominguez’s proposal and have committed to explore their complementarities to more efficiently and effectively deliver development assistance to countries in the Asia-Pacific region as shown by their joint support for the Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination program.
For the Philippines’ COVID-19 response, which includes the vaccination program, the ADB has thus far extended a total of US$4.33 billion in loans and grants; the AIIB, US$1.05 billion; and the WB, US$3.67 billion.
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