Cameroon - COVID-19 Crisis Response Budget Support Programme (PABRC)

The proposed operation is EUR 88 million loan to the Republic of Cameroon to finance the COVID-19 Crisis Response Budget Support Programme (PABRC). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Cameroon dates back to 6 March 2020. By 2 June 2020, the country had more than [6 397] confirmed cases, including [3 629] recoveries and [199] deaths. The Centre (Yaoundé) and Littoral (Douala) Regions have the highest number of cases, representing about 55.8% and 32.2% of the total, respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the structural weaknesses of the country’s health system and economy, particularly the limited human and financial resources allocated to the health sector. The programme has two components: (1) Strengthen the Response of the Health System and Mobilise Resources; and (2) Mitigate the Adverse Effects of COVID-19 on the Economy. This is a crisis response budget support as defined in the Operational Guidelines on the Programming, Design and Management of Programme-Based Support Operations – ADF/BD/IF/2014/35. The PABRC appraisal was conducted in April 2020 following a request submitted to the Bank on 9 April 2020 by the Government of Cameroon. It recommends two types of intervention: immediate actions to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, and long-term structural actions to build the resilience of the economy to serve as a basis for economic recovery. This operation is being considered within the framework of the COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility (CRF) set up by the Bank to protect its Regional Member Countries (RMCs) and their households and private sector enterprises from the economic and social impact of the pandemic.