| Approval Date | 24 Jul 2020 |
| Signature Date | 10 Aug 2020 |
| Planned Completion Date | 31 Dec 2021 |
| Last Disbursement Planned Date | 31 Dec 2021 |
| Sovereign / Non-Sovereign | Sovereign |
| Sector | Multi-Sector |
| DAC Sector Code | 11330 |
| Environmental Category | 3 |
| Commitment | U.A 18,300,000 |
| Status | Implementation |
The proposed intervention focuses on the Somali component of the Crisis Response Support Programme for National and Regional Mitigation of COVID-19 Impact for the Republics of Djibouti and Somalia. The operation is designed as Crisis Response Budget Support under the Bank Group COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF). It is in the form of a Regional Operations Envelope (RO) grant of UA 10.98 Million and a Transition Support Facility (TSF)-Pillar I grant of UA 7.32 Million. The programme will be implemented over one-year period from July 2020 to July 2021 in order to support countries ‘mitigation plans, including measures to tackle the COVID-19 regional spill-over impacts. Djibouti and Somalia represent 19.46% of total COVID-19 cases in the IGAD Region as of 16/07/20203. While Djibouti has the third highest contamination rate in Africa with 5 cases per 1000 and the highest rate in the Horn of Africa (due to population size), Somalia has the third highest death rate of the Region and a case fatality rate of 3% of total confirmed cases. The absolute numbers are misleading, due to low testing: Djibouti has tested 5.3% of the population (9.5% of those tested had the virus), while Somalia has tested only 0.3% (53% had the virus). Both countries are facing similar challenges due to the spread of COVID-19, which is negatively impacting health, livelihoods, economic stability, bilateral cross-border trade as well as trade with their common neighbours in the Horn of Africa (HoA). The programme is a response to the requests from both Governments dated 28 May 2020 (Somalia) and 30 May 2020 (Djibouti), which emphasized the need for support in their joint efforts to address the crisis, through regional cooperation. It is part of the broader commitment among countries participating under the Horn of Africa Initiative and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) frameworks to coordinate their COVID-19 responses and mitigation efforts. The program consists of three mutually reinforcing components which will be implemented through a coordinated approach and mainstreamed measures targeting cross-borders impacts of the pandemic: (1) strengthening the health system for an effective response; (2) strengthening livelihoods and social protection; and (3) protecting the labour force productivity and economic activities against COVID-19 shocks.
The proposed operation will contribute to the sanitary, humanitarian, social and economic response of Djibouti and Somalia, in order to mitigate the national and regional impacts of the pandemic and build the resilience of the countries during and after the crisis. The programme will (i) support health responses in both countries, by upgrading health systems ‘capacities to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19 and to any future health crisis, with an emphasis on health workers capacity development; (ii) reinforce livelihoods and social protection mechanisms through scaling-up of safety nets, including cash transfers and distribution of water and food to vulnerable groups; (iii) protect economic activities by focusing on tax and financial measures to support the private sector and relying on fiscal balance and accountability.
The measures supported by this programme have a broad spectrum of influence in areas which impact the entire population in Djibouti, Somalia and beyond. Indeed, support for the health response will benefit all populations threatened by COVID-19 and to the labour force in the health sector. Social protection aspects will strengthen the livelihoods for 100 000 households in Djibouti and in Somalia, with a special emphasis on vulnerable groups like women, IDPs and refugees. Activities related to economic resilience will directly benefit 100 and 43 enterprises respectively in Djibouti and Somalia, as well as workers directly depending on jobs provided by these enterprises. Public institutions and workers in the health and social sectors, as well as central administrations in charge of economic management, will directly benefit from the supports provided under this programme that will support the implementation of their respective work programmes.
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Implementing
GOVERNMENT OF SOMALIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE
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Funding
Transition Support Facility
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Funding
African Development Fund
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| IATI identifier | 46002-P-Z1-K00-103 |
| Last Update | 24 Mar 2023 |
| Name | Mosllem Ahmed ALAMIR AHMED |
| m.ahmed@afdb.org |