NDB’s $10 billion COVID-19 financing benefitted 400 million people

New Delhi: The New Development Bank (NDB) provided $10 billion in emergency COVID-19 response loans to its founding member countries (BRICS), benefiting 400 million people, including women, health workers, senior citizens, people with disabilities, farmers, and more, according to an evaluation report by NDB’s Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).

The report estimates that through this financing, the member countries were able to provide much needed support, including life cover of USD 67,400 to 2.2 million health workers, USD 4.17 billion in income support to 206.5 million women, ex-gratia payments of USD 13.5 each to 28.1 million senior citizens, widows, and individuals with disabilities, USD 26.9 each in advanced funds to 95 million farmers, and deliver 142 million gas cylinders to 75.6 million people.

Additionally, the India focused COVID-19 Response Programmes generated 5.4 billion person-days of employment, with 52% going to women, and ensured 100% of district hospital doctors and nurses were trained to meet WHO standards, with 61% of them being women.

The NDB approved its first COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Programme Loan on March 19, 2020, making it the first multilateral development bank to address the pandemic’s health and economic impacts. The report commends the NDB for its swift response and recommends the development of a crisis response policy to guide future responses to global crises.

The pandemic created economic challenges, trade volume contractions, and increased global unemployment, presenting unique difficulties for nations worldwide. The NDB’s Independent Evaluation Office shared its findings on the Bank’s COVID-19 response in New Delhi, India, during a stakeholders’ seminar, followed by an Evaluation Capacity Development seminar.

According to Mr. Anil Kishora, Vice-President & Chief Risk Officer, NDB, “The COVID-19 pandemic was one of those rare global crises which demanded a response from almost every institution having a stake in human well-being or global development. It was a reminder that multilateral organisations, in particular, need to stay ever prepared and equipped to respond to global crisis situations which might hit us in future. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged both the member countries and NDB in terms of magnitude, dynamics, and complexity. However, the Bank demonstrated exceptional agility and speed in its response, prioritizing the immediate needs of its member countries. The COVID-19 Response Programme Evaluation was the logical next step to identify lessons that need to be thought through and internalized.”

Speaking about the evaluation and its learning, Mr. Ashwani Muthoo, Director General of the IEO at the NDB, said “The evaluation accounted for the exceptional challenges posed by the pandemic and the absence of well-established benchmarks. When one comprehensively considers all aspects, it becomes evident that the NDB’s COVID-19 Response Programme played an instrumental role in the triumph of the individual country programs. It is heartening to witness the commitment of all stakeholders discuss the lessons and recommendations from this independent evaluation.”