The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved grants worth about $41.16 million to Djibouti to support government’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Development Diaries gathered that the bank provided the funding under its Covid-19 response facility and that the funding would take the form of an African Development Fund grant for $4.12 million and a $37.04 million grant from the bank’s regional operations envelope.

The Acting Director-General for East Africa at AfDB, Nnenna Nwabufo, said, ‘It is the first time the bank is leveraging the regional operations resources for a budget support operation. This approach was pertinent to ensure that Djibouti has adequate resources to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in its territory and limit cross-border impacts that pose serious risks for health, social and economic development for the country and ensure adequate controls at territorial borders and all points of entry’.

It is understood that the financing will enable the government of Djibouti to support three interlinked Covid-19 response programmes to enhance health systems, safeguard livelihoods and provide social protection, and defend labour force productivity and economic activity.

The bank’s grant funding aligns with Djibouti’s development objectives and those of its Covid-19 emergency and solidarity fund.

The intervention also aligns with the bank’s ten-year strategy, and it’s eastern Africa regional integration strategy and broader efforts to combat fragility and build resilience in Africa.

Source: Press