World Bank Commits $12 Million Towards Ebola Response in DRC

The World Bank Group’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) made its first-ever financial commitment, approving a $12 million grant towards the current Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The grant, which will be made from the Cash Window of the PEF will support the surge in activities of the DRC Government and international responders outlined under the approved three-month $56.8 million Ebola response plan, released by the DRC Government.

As of 22nd May 2018, there were a total of 50 cases and 27 deaths from the current Ebola outbreak.

The PEF, an innovative financing mechanism set up by the World Bank Group in partnership with Japan, Germany, the World Health Organization (WHO), and private sector partners, has been operational since July 2017 and consists of both a cash and an insurance component.

In addition to the PEF, the World Bank Group also reallocated today the entire $15 million investment in disease surveillance in DRC, planned over three years, to the current Ebola response plan. This brings the total committed financing from the PEF and WBG to $27 million, ensuring that the Government’s three-month $56.8 million Ebola response plan is fully funded in 2 days by the government of DRC and international partners. 

This marks the first time that such a significant amount has been mobilized so rapidly in the context of a major disease outbreak.

Additionally, The World Bank Group has also activated the use of the Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC) of its DRC Health System Project investment, which would allow the government access to an additional $80 million in IDA credits to respond to the outbreak if needed.

In addition to the Cash Window, the PEF also currently has a $425 million Insurance Window with premiums funded by Japan and Germany, consisting of bonds placed on the capital markets. This would be triggered if a much larger, multi-country response is needed. All activation criteria are based upon publicly available data provided by the WHO.

The PEF covers 77 of the world’s poorest countries against pandemic threats and is the first mechanism to be expressly designed for this purpose.