Days after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the third tranche of funds for Pakistan, the World Bank also signed six agreements with Pakistan to provide $1.336 billion worth of assistance, mainly for pandemic relief and to counter food shortages.
The breakdown of the agreements and allocation according to the purpose of funds is important if Pakistan means to utilise this money efficiently. As mentioned, food is a priority—along with the pandemic which weakened the economy, Pakistan felt double jeopardy last year when it saw the devastation of its crops due to locust swarms.
That is why a $200 million loan out of the $1.336 billion has been allocated to a Locust Emergency and Food Security Project—this project is to be worked on jointly by the federal and provincial governments through a strengthened and better-coordinated system for implementation of methods for prevention of harm, as well as relief for food shortages.
The methods include better locust surveillance and controlling operations as well as funds and security for the rehabilitation of the livelihoods of those most affected by the outbreak. Most of the loan allocation is focused on the social sector—$128 million was allocated to support the government’s initiatives in social protection, disaster and climate risk management, improving infrastructure for resilience, agriculture and food security, human capital development and governance sectors.
Perhaps most notably, $600 million in financing is to be granted from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Crisis-Resilient Social Protection Programme (CRISP) that will support Pakistan to expand Ehsaas.
It is a good sign that the national poverty alleviation programme, Ehsaas, is being recognised and expanded by the international organisation. Considering Ehsaas is facing unprecedented challenges because of the pandemic, global assistance and new methodologies and technology would be helpful to build a flexible and dynamic social protection system.
Source: https://nation.com.pk/28-Mar-2021/world-bank-agreements