Public Management

Rwanda: African Development Bank commits $98 million for multisector COVID-19 response

Rwanda: African Development Bank commits $98 million for multisector COVID-19 response
Sunday, 26 July 2020 06:59

The African Development Bank on Thursday approved a concessional loan of $97.675 million to Rwanda to strengthen its national budget as it works to mitigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding will take the form of an African Development Fund loan, which the Bank is providing the under its COVID-19 Response Facility.

Rwanda mounted a swift and decisive response to counter the effects of the pandemic that included social distancing, suspension of domestic and international travel, remote working, and on 21 March, a total lockdown of the country. However, since 4 May 2020, the government has partially reopened the country.

Under the Crisis Response Budget Support Program, the Rwandan government will use the funding to strengthen the health system to contain the spread of COVID-19; safeguard economic resilience; and mitigate the pandemic’s impact on vulnerable sectors of the population.

Health sector measures entail bolstering surveillance, infection prevention and control capacity so the health authorities can better monitor, track and identify hotspots; enhance laboratory capacity for testing; and treatment of the severely ill. Another element is risk communication and community engagement on the disease.

The government will work to shore up economic resilience by clearing arrears to domestic suppliers, enabling the private sector to continue to invest, pay taxes and repay loans. Through an approved Economic Recovery Fund (ERF), the government will support hard-hit businesses and sustain employment and promote domestic production of medical equipment, masks, gloves and sanitizers.

The COVID-19 containment measures combined with weaker global demand and disruptions in the global supply chain have mainly impacted the hospitality, education, services, agriculture and trading sectors. This has led to losses in revenues and jobs, especially those related to causal workers, informal sector including micro small and medium enterprises, and those laid off in the formal economy. This loss of income is threatening to push households into poverty, especially those that were living at the poverty margin before the pandemic.
In response, government has approved the Economic Recovery Program which will scale up existing social protection and healthcare programs to these vulnerable segments of the population.

We are pleased to provide this crisis response budget operation to support the Government of Rwanda in their efforts to contain the negative impact of the COVID-19 on the people of Rwanda and the government fiscal space,” said Nnenna Nwabufo, the Bank’s Acting Director General for East Africa, “We are confident that the government will execute the planned programs with great efficiency and diligence.”

Under a worst-case scenario, Rwanda’s real GDP in 2020 is forecast to contract by 2.0 %. Further, as 90% of the workforce is employed in the private sector, mostly in small and informal enterprises, shutdown measures can be expected to sharply raise unemployment.

The proposed budget support program is aligned with the Government of Rwanda’s National Preparedness and Response Plan and Economic Recovery Plan. It also aligns with the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy and the High 5 priority “improve the quality of life of the people of Africa”.

24968 in Agency agrf jennifer blanke agrf afdb copy 

Additional Info

  • communiques: Non
  • couleur: N/A
On the same topic
DRC launches campaign to diversify investors in government securities 98% of bonds now held by banks; aim is to reduce risk and broaden...
Verdant Capital has invested $3 million in Nigerian fintech Bfree to help recover distressed loans in Africa. The deal will allow Bfree to...
Côte d’Ivoire will receive $234 million for a sustainable urban mobility project in Abidjan. Gambia will receive $32.2 million to build...
Stanbic IBTC and Zenith Bank cut monthly card spending abroad to $500 and $200 Foreign reserves fall by $3.5 billion in six...
Most Read
01

• Inflation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) fell to a two-year low of 0....

UEMOA: Inflation Drops to 0.6% in May, Driven by Lower Food Prices
02

• Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways establish strategic agreement, introducing a third daily flight be...

Qatar Airways Expands its Network in Africa, Building Presence in Kigali, Johannesburg, and Nairobi
03

• Interbank volumes rose 18.7% in May, while rates declined across the market• The BCEAO cut its mai...

WAEMU Sees Easing Conditions on Regional Interbank Market
04

• EY is preparing to leave Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa by 2026• The exit could unlock $500 m...

EY’s Exit Creates $1bn Opportunity in Francophone Africa Consulting Market
05

As cybersecurity asserts itself as a pillar of digital sovereignty in West Africa, technology-free z...

Cybersecurity Key to Côte d'Ivoire's Tech Future– VITIB's N'ZI
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72
Média kit : Download

EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.