The Philippines was able to secure financing support from development partners and commercial markets for the country’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response amounting to $15.49 billion to date, data from the Department of Finance (DOF) showed.
This was the amount raised as of April 8, 2021, according to data posted on the DOF website.
The DOF said $13.35 billion in budgetary support financing came from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Agence Franí§aise de Développement, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund and US dollar-denominated global bonds.
Of the said amount, $12.31 billion has been disbursed to the government.
In addition, the DOF said grant and loan financing amounting to $2.14 billion have been contracted in support of various projects to be implemented by agencies involved in COVID-19 response.
The latest total figure includes the $1.2 billion in fresh loans recently extended by multilateral partner institutions to the Philippines.
The World Bank last month approved $500 million in additional funding to support the Philippine government’s program to purchase and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, strengthen the country’s health systems, and overcome the impact of the pandemic, especially on the poor and the most vulnerable.
The ADB also announced that the Philippines became the first recipient of financing support under the bank’s Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility with the approval of a $400 million loan that will help the country purchase safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
The ADB project will be supported by $300 million in co-financing from the AIIB.
