World Bank Group worked towards improving development outcomes. World Bank Group support rapidly adjusted to help countries fight the pandemic by focusing on four priorities: saving lives threatened by the pandemic; protecting the poor and vulnerable; securing the foundations of the economy to shorten the time to recovery; and strengthening policies and institutions for resilience based on transparent and sustainable debt and investments. To support these emergency programs, World Bank Group financing was significantly scaled up, reaching $74 billion in commitments.
World Bank Group worked with the IMF to call on official bilateral creditors to grant debt relief to the world’s poorest countries: those eligible for International Development Association (IDA) financing. The G20 agreed on a coordinated approach, and private creditors were also called on to contribute to the initiative. The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which came into effect on May 1, frees up resources for the poorest countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and encourages debt transparency and sustainability.
Aside from COVID-19 health emergency projects, whose main purpose was to help fight the spread of the pandemic, 73 percent of Bank financing helped address gender gaps and 31 percent contributed climate co-benefits – estimated at $17 billion. Investments in human development doubled to $20 billion, and lending to countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence (FCV) reached $10 billion in FY20.