Mali - 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 Mali 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. The first COVID-19 case in Mali was reported on 25 March 2020 and by 5 June 2020, the total number of cases stood at 1,461. To contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mali took several preventive and protection measures including (i) the closure of all land borders, (ii) the suspension of commercial flights from COVID-19-affected countries until further notice, except for cargo flights, (iii) the temporary closure of public, private and denominational schools (nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary) and (iv) the ban, till further notice, of social, sports and political gatherings of over 50 persons. These measures caused a slump in economic demand and supply, leading to an abrupt and widespread economic slowdown. 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.