Bangladesh: COVID-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Project is to support the GoB to prevent, detect, and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and to strengthen its national systems for public health preparedness in Bangladesh.

DESCRIPTION

This project is supported under the COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility (the Facility) of the Bank and co-financed with the World Bank (WB) as an investment project. The project will help the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) respond to immediate health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen health systems for pandemic preparedness. The project is consistent with the country priorities as laid out in the National Action Plan for Health Security and Bangladesh Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19, developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). In addition to scaling up interventions to limit human-to-human transmission, health systems strengthening interventions will be rolled out to improve the country’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic and to be better prepared to respond to any future disease outbreaks.

The Project includes the following components:

Component 1: Emergency COVID-19 Response. This will provide immediate support to Bangladesh to prevent COVID-19 from arriving or limiting local transmission through containment strategies.

Component 2: Supporting National and Sub-national Prevention and Preparedness. This will include activities which aim to improve prevention and response planning for infectious disease.

Component 3: Implementation Management and Monitoring and Evaluation. This will include the areas of project management, monitoring and evaluation, procurement, financial management, and environmental and social safeguards.

Component 4: Contingent Emergency Response Component. This will ensure provision of immediate response to an Eligible Crisis or Health Emergency.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

The Loan will be co-financed with the WB as a lead co-financier, and the project’s environmental and social (ES) risks and impacts have been assessed in accordance with the WB’s Environment and Social Framework (ESF). To ensure a harmonized approach to addressing the ES risks and impacts of the Project, and as permitted under AIIB’s Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), the WB’s ESF will apply to the Project in lieu of AIIB’s ESP. AIIB has reviewed the WB’s ESF and is satisfied that: (i) it is consistent with AIIB’s Articles of Agreement and materially consistent with the provisions of AIIB’s ESP and the relevant Environmental and Social Standards; and (ii) the monitoring procedures that are in place are appropriate for the project.

The ES risks have been rated “Substantial” by WB, which is equivalent to Category B under AIIB’s ESP, due to the health and safety risks to health workers and communities. However, the project is expected to have mostly positive socio-economic impacts, as it will build capacity to respond to recurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 and other infections, and consequently have sustainable economic benefits.

In accordance with the WB’s ESF, an Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP)has been prepared, which sets out actions and instruments to be prepared to achieve compliance with WB’s ESF. A Project Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) has been also prepared, which includes provisions for the development of Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) for project activities. The ESMF includes a Medical Waste Management Plan (MWMP) to assess and manage wastes of different kinds (solid, liquid, medical, hazardous and nonhazardous) generated from labs, quarantine facilities and screening posts to be supported by the COVID-19 readiness and response. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) and Labor Management Procedure (Occupational Health Procedures) have also been prepared.

The ESCP and SEP in English have been disclosed on the WB’s website, since March 22, 2020. They have also been disclosed in English on the government’s website as well. Links to these documents are also provided on AIIB’s website. The ESMF and Labor Management Procedure have been also disclosed since May 19, 2020. An existing functional Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) of the MoHFW will be used throughout the life cycle of the Project. The information on the GRM has been disseminated in the SEP.