Additional Financing to Cambodia COVID-19 Emergency Response Project

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The Cambodia COVID-19 Emergency Response Project (ERP) is part of the World Bank’s COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Program using the Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA). The Project intends to fill critical gaps in implementing the Cambodia’s COVID-19 Master Plan, which has been updated from Cambodia’s existing pandemic response strategy. The specific objectives that the project aims to support include: (i) to reduce and delay the transmission of COVID-19; (ii) to minimize serious disease due to COVID-19 and reduce associated deaths; (iii) to ensure ongoing essential health services particularly during epidemic peak periods; and (iv) to minimize social and economic impact through multi-sectoral partnerships. These objectives are fully aligned with the overall goal of the Cambodia COVID-19 Master Plan which is to control transmission of COVID-19, and to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in Cambodia. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to assist Cambodia in its efforts to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness. The project will comprise the following components: Component 1. Case detection and management (US$9.65 million): establishing and upgrading laboratory, isolation and treatment centers and equipping them with medical supplies and furniture and network installation. The National Institute of Public Health will be upgraded; diagnostic capacity of the four provincial laboratories as well as capacity of the laboratories attached to the 21 provincial referral hospitals will be built; and isolation and treatment centers in all 25 municipal/provincial referral hospitals will be established.Component 2. Medical Supplies and Equipment (US$6.5 million): This component will finance the procurement of medical supplies and equipment needed for activities outlined in the COVID-19 Master Plan, including business continuity of essential services, such as (1) case management; and (2) infection prevention and control. Specifically, items procured will include drugs and medical supplies for case management and infection prevention.Component 3. Preparedness, Capacity Building and Training (US$3.5 million): This component will finance activities related to preparedness, capacity building and training, guided by the different pillars and activities of the COVID-19 Master Plan. These include: (1) coordination at the national, provincial and district levels; (2) Emergency Operation Center functionalization; (3) human resources for implementation, supportive supervision and subnational support; (4) operating costs; (5) support for screening people entering in to the country at designated points of entry; (6) strengthening call/hotline centers; and (7) strengthening community- and event-based surveillance for COVID-19. The component will also support risk communication and community engagement; behavioral and sociocultural risk factors assessments; production of risk communication and community engagement strategy and training documents; production of communication materials; and monitoring and evidence generation. Component 4. Project Implementation and Monitoring (US$1.5 million): Implementing the proposed project will require administrative and human resources that exceed the current capacity of the implementing institutions, in addition to those mobilized through the Health Equity and Quality Improvement Project. Activities include: (1) support for procurement, financial management, environmental and social safeguards, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting; (2) recruitment and training of staff and technical consultants; and (3) operating costs.The changes proposed for the AF2 entail expanding the scope of activities in the parent project, Cambodia COVID-19 ERP. As the proposed additional activities are fully aligned with the parent project, the PDO will remain unchanged. An additional PDO Indicator will be added, per the financing source requirements, to measure the percentage of the population vaccinated, based on the targets defined in the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 vaccines, and additional Intermediate Results Indicators will be included for Component 1 to track the progress of AF2.There will be no change from the parent project’s implementation arrangements with the exception of including one additional technical department. The MOH, with its extensive experience in the WB’s fiduciary, environmental, social, and technical implementation arrangements, will continue to lead the coordination and implementation of project activities. An inter-ministerial committee, chaired by MOH, has been set up to coordinate efforts across the Government for responding to the COVID-19 vaccination, with this committee replicated at both provincial and operational distri ct levels nationwide. With respect to this AF2, Central Medical Store will be involved in project implementation and is responsible for the storage and distribution of vaccines. The closing date of the AF2 will not change, and remain at December 31, 2022.The increase in scope, as outlined above, will be reflected in an increase in indicative component allocation from US$21.15 million equivalent to US$24.65 million equivalent, with the full amount of the AF being added under Component 1. The new allocation to Component 1 will be US$3.50 million to reflect the AF2 made available for strengthening cold chain capacity and logistics, and vaccines deployment. Otherwise all other allocation to Components 2, 3 and 4 will the same US$6.50 million, US$3.50 million and US$1.50 million respectively as outlined under the parent project and the AF1 with a focus on medical supplies and equipment, preparedness capacity building and training, and project implementation and monitoring.The current Component 1 of the parent project, “Case detection and management”, will be renamed as “Emergency COVID-19 Prevention and Response” to align it with the MPA. The activities in the parent project under Component 1 will remain unchanged and become sub-component 1.1 titled “Case detection and management”. A sub-component 1.2, “Deployment of COVID-19 vaccination”, will be added. The sub-component 1.2 will support an indicative list of activities: (a) the establishment (design and implementation) of a mechanism to provide identification of the defined at-risk groups and register them; (b) design and implement campaigns to familiarize the population with issues related to vaccination and roll out plan of the vaccine; (c) capacity building and training of health workers and VHSGs for appropriate and effective provision of the vaccines; (d) delivery of vaccines to reach difficult to access priority groups; and (e) building on support from WHO, management of vaccination waste, including ensuring proper waste collection, transportation and disinfection and proper disposal of vaccination wastes. TA for prioritization will be provided to ensure that the prioritized activities will be financed. With the inclusion of this AF2, the Cambodia COVID-19 ERP project components will be updated as follows:Component 1: Emergency COVID-19 Prevention and Response (U$13.15 million)Subcomponent 1.1: Case Detection and Management (US$9.65 million)Subcomponent 1.2: Deployment of COVID-19 Vaccination (US$3.5 million)Component 2: Medical Supplies and Equipment (US$6.5 million)Component 3: Preparedness, Capacity Building and Training (US$3.5 million)Component 4: Project Implementation and Monitoring (US$1.5million)

FY17 - Health

World Bank

Project

Warehouse, Hospital, Residential, Government, Commercial