Lao PDR COVID-19 Response Project

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The World Bank Group (WBG)has created a dedicated, COVID-19 Fast Track facility to help developing countries address emergency response to, and impacts of the outbreak. The WBGs COVID-19 Fast Track facility will be a globally-coordinated, country-based response to support health systems and emergency response capacity in developing countries, focused largely on health system response, complemented by support for economic and social disruption. The Lao PDR COVID-19 Response Project is part of this COVID-19 Fast Track facility to support the Government of Lao PDR in responding to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak and to strengthen its health system to deal with future public health emergencies. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and strengthen national systems for public health emergency preparedness in Lao PDR. The project components and activities under the these components are designed to support critical gaps identified through the National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19. The project will complement collaboration efforts being undertaken by other international donors in Lao PDR. The project will comprise the following three components: Component 1. Emergency COVID-19 Response [US$12.83 million]: This component supports preparedness and emergency response activities to address immediate gaps for COVID-19 response in Lao PDR, focusing on the following areas: (i) response coordination; (ii) infection prevention and control; (iii) case detection, confirmation, and contact tracing; (iv) case management; and (v) risk communication and community engagement. Goods, works and services to be financed by this component include: (i) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), (ii) medical equipment, (iii) laboratory equipment and consumables, (iv) minor civil works, supplies and other commodities for infection prevention and control including improvements in safe water and sanitation and in medical waste management and disposal systems, and (v) establishment of hotlines to reach communities on COVID-19 information and respond to enquiries from the public and health care providers. In addition, this component also finances operating cost including per diem, transportation and accommodation for medical and non-medical personnel for intensified case detection, confirmation and contact tracing, food and basic supplies for quarantined populations as well as cost of contractual staff and overtime payment for existing health workers to respond to a surge in demand for services. Enhanced capacity for case detection, confirmation and contact tracing as well as home-care support is supported through training of health workers and surveillance workers and better reporting by frontline health workers through existing information system. The component also allows for flexibility to allocate resources to purchase essential pharmaceutical (medicines and vaccines) to fill in gaps in supplies of essential medicines and goods to ensure continuity of essential health service delivery.Component 2. Strengthening System for Emergency Response [US$3.67 million]: This component strengthens the capacity of the health system to respond to public health emergencies by supporting clinical response, laboratory, isolation and case management capacity of health facilities at central and provincial levels, including supporting medical supplies, furniture, virtual conference facilities and network installation to manage COVID-19 cases. The activities include minor civil works and retrofitting of isolation rooms and treatment centers in the existing health facilities. Also, this component strengthens clinical care capacity through the development and training of medical lab technicians on molecular diagnostics and health personnel on treatment guidelines and hospital infection control interventions. The component also strengthens the national health information system for enhanced surveillance capacity by rolling out a District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) module for COVID-19 surveillance at central and provincial levels and finances the hardware and capacity building of health personnel for the use of DHIS2 module for COVID-19 surveillance as well as the operating cost related to these activities. Component 3. Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation [US$1.5 million]: This component finances activities related to project management and monitoring, including the project management unit, and project monitoring and evaluation. Key activities include: (i) recruitment of project management unit and technical consultants; (ii) support for procurement, financial management, environmental and social sustainability, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting; and (iii) operating expenses. The monitoring and evaluation will be implemented in coordination with technical departments responsible for implementing activities using the agreed monitoring and evaluation tools. Collection, use and processing (including transfers to third parties) of any personal data collected under this project will be done in accordance with best practice ensuring legitimate, appropriate and proportionate treatment of such data. Through a global waiver, all IPF operations processed under the Fast Track COVID-19 Facility, including projects prepared under the Global MPA or stand-alone projects, are eligible for the application of the additional flexibilities defined in paragraph 12 of Section III of the IPF Policy due to the urgent need of assistance experienced by all Bank borrowers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.