Chad - COVID-19 Support Programme in G5 Sahel Countries - Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad (PARC COVID-19 - G5 Sahel)

The proposed intervention concerns the Chad component of the COVID-19 Crisis Response Programme in the G5 Sahel Countries (PARC COVID-19 – G5 SAHEL). This is a loan and award a grant to the G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad) of UA 118.9 million and UA 89.6 million respectively from the COVID-19 Rapid Response Facility. It will be implemented over 12 months from July 2020. The Programme was appraised in April 2020 following requests to the Bank by the countries. Chad recorded its first case of COVID-19 on 19 March 2020. As of 5 June 2020, the country had 828 infected cases, confirming the rapid spread of the disease in early May, with a sharp increase in the number of cases since 13 May (357 cases). To check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has taken a series of preventive and protective measures, including: (i) the closing of airports to all airlines, except freighters (however, land borders remain open to goods traffic, excluding the borders with Sudan and the Central African Republic); (ii) the prohibition of gatherings of more than 50 people; (iii) the closure of all schools and universities; (iv) the closure of restaurants, bars and nightclubs; and (v) the banning of public transport by minibus and limitation of the number of passengers in taxis. These measures have led to a sharp contraction of supply and demand, resulting in a sudden economic downturn in Chad. This Programme complements the other budget support operations, particularly the Multinational Coronavirus Pandemic Control Support Project for G5 member countries approved on 9 June 2020, aimed at providing the region with adequate operational capacities to combat the pandemic. More specifically, the programme will contribute to the financing of response plans through the budget support it will provide. It will also support measures aimed at improving the financial management of the response plans and mitigating the health, social and economic-related impacts.