The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved US$38 million in contingent disaster financing to help Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga respond to disasters triggered by natural hazards and health emergencies.
The support comes from the fourth phase of the Pacific Disaster Resilience Program and will provide Kiribati with an US$8 million grant, Samoa with a US$10 million grant, Solomon Islands with a US$5 million grant and a US$5 million loan, and Tonga a US$10 million grant. All four countries have made strong progress on building the resilience of their institutions, which build on the previous phases of the programme.
“The Pacific Disaster Resilience Programme will provide the participating countries with quick disbursing, flexible budget support for urgent relief, and early recovery from disasters,” said ADB Director General for the Pacific Leah Gutierrez.
Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga are highly vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards and health emergencies. ADB’s support to the Pacific under previous phases of the programme has helped strengthen policy, legislative, and institutional arrangements to manage climate and disaster risk, including health emergencies.
The programme fills a financing gap common in the Pacific during disasters, providing a predictable and quick-disbursing source of financing for early response and recovery activities.
The project is financed by a US$5 million concessional loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and a US$33 million grant from the Asian Development Fund (ADF). The ADF provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries.
SOURCE: ADB/PACNEWS
