Funding Support for CDB Borrowing Member Countries

• A total of €30Mn (approximately US$35Mn) in concessional funding support is being provided to bolster the response of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB’s) 19 borrowing member countries (BMCs), including Jamaica, to the coronavirus pandemic. The funds are intended to assist beneficiary countries in accessing and deploying COVID-19 vaccines and strengthening the capacity of their health services to deal with the pandemic. 
• The allocation, which is programmed for deployment by year end, has been repurposed from a €120Mn Climate Action Line of Credit II, jointly executed by the CDB and European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2017 to aid the BMCs in combatting climate change. The funds will be critical for BMCs in getting more affordable access to safe vaccines and related material, equipment and services for their populations. 
• The programme includes debt service support, policy-based lending, the purchasing of personal protective equipment for front-line workers, procurement of digital devices and other technology that support services to underpin online learning and assist with learning recovery. It will also include financing of a regional communication engagement strategy to increase vaccination, and the provision of working capital to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

(Source: JIS)