Solomon Islands has been named alongside Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga as recipients of 38 million disaster respond fund approved by Asia Development Bank (ADB) this month.
According to shares, Solomon Islands will get 5million grant plus another 5million loan totaling up to 10 million.
Kiribati with an $8 million grant, Samoa with a $10 million grant, and Tonga a $10 million grant.
The support comes from the fourth phase of the Pacific Disaster Resilience Program and will provide all four countries which have made strong progress on building the resilience of their institutions, which build on the previous phases of the program.
The funding is aimed at mitigating disasters triggered by natural hazards and health emergencies.
“The Pacific Disaster Resilience Program 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 program has helped strengthen policy, legislative, and institutional arrangements to manage climate and disaster risk, including health emergencies.
The program 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 $5 million concessional loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and a $33 million grant from the Asian Development Fund (ADF). The ADF provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region – PR
