Maldives: COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project

OBJECTIVE

To respond to and mitigate the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in the Maldives.

DESCRIPTION

This project will be co-financed with the World Bank and have the following components:

• Component 1 (Emergency Response for COVID-19 Prevention): Procurement of essential protective equipment and other essential items to protect healthcare workers and patients; risk communication, community engagement and behavior change, including social distancing measures and associated mitigation strategies.
• Component 2 (Emergency Health System Capacity Strengthening for COVID-19 Case Management): Strengthening the centralized and decentralized health system capabilities for disease surveillance, case management and infection prevention and control.
• Component 3 (Implementation Management and Monitoring and Evaluation): Strengthening of public institutions for the coordination and management of the project, including central and regional arrangements for coordination of activities, financial management, procurement and social and environmental management.
• Component 4 (Contingent Emergency Response Component): Zero-dollar component to ensure additional flexibility in response to the current and any potential other emergency that might occur during the lifetime of this project.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

The proposed Project will be co-financed with the WB as lead co-financier, and its 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 ESF will apply to the Project in lieu of AIIB’s ESP. AIIB has reviewed the WB ESF and is satisfied that: (i) it is consistent with the Bank’s Articles of Agreement and materially consistent with the provisions of AIIB’s ESP, including the Environmental and Social Exclusion List and the relevant Environmental and Social Standards; and (ii) the monitoring procedures that are in place are appropriate for the Project.

Given the nature and potential of spread of the COVID-19 pathogen, the WB has categorized the ES risks of the project as Substantial (which is equivalent to Category B if AIIB’s ESP were applicable). However, the project is expected to have mostly positive ES impacts, insofar as it should improve COVID-19 surveillance, monitoring, case management and containment, thereby preventing a wider spread of the disease.

In accordance with the WB’s ESF, an Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) has been prepared by the Ministry of Health (MoH). To mitigate the ES risks and impacts of the Project, the MoH has prepared an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) in line with World Health Organization (WHO) standards and guidelines on COVID-19 response. The ESMF also includes a Health Care Waste Management Plan (HCWMP).

A Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) has been prepared and disclosed on March 24, 2020 and updated on May 22, 2020 by the MoH and on the WB’s external website. The MoH will use the SEP to engage citizens in locally used languages and for public information disclosure. The ESCP has been disclosed on the same websites of MoH and WB on March 26, 2020; the ESMF have been disclosed since May 22, 2020. The ES documents have also been disclosed on AIIB website[1]. The Executive Summary of the ESMF will be translated into Divehi language and disclosed soon.

A project Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) has been prepared in line with the requirements of the WB’s ESF and included in the SEP. A basic GRM will be developed for the workers to report any issues relating workplace safety and other concerns.