Papua New Guinea COVID-19 Emergency Response Additional Financing

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The purpose of the proposed AF is to support the Government of Papua New Guinea to expand the scale and improve the effectiveness of the ongoing COVID-19 emergency response and to equitably and effectively deploy COVID-19 vaccines that meet the World Bank vaccine approval criteria to ensure coverage of the first prioritized 20 percent of the population. The proposed AF will not finance the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. All vaccines deployed through the project will meet the Bank’s vaccine approval criteria, established in the AF to the COVID-19 SPRP MPA Framework Paper approved by the Board on October 13, 2020.The proposed AF will include the following components and sub-components:Component 1: Preparedness for COVID-19 Containment and Mitigation:Sub-component 1.1: Risk Communication and Community EngagementSub-component 1.2: Strengthening Response Support at the Provincial LevelSub-component 1.3: Expanding service delivery outreach to communities for COVID-19 at the provincial levelSub-component 1.4: Strengthening Systems for COVID-19 Vaccine DeploymentSub-component 1.5: Human Resource DevelopmentComponent 2: Health Systems Strengthening:Sub-component 2.1: Building Testing CapacitySub-component 2.2: Enhancing Containment and Clinical Management CapacitySub-component 2.3: Strengthening Pandemic PreparednessComponent 3: Implementation Management and Monitoring and Evaluation;Component 4: Contingent Emergency Response Component.The proposed AF directly contributes to implementation of the focus area 2 of the PNG Country Partnership Framework (CPF) FY19-23 (Report No. 128471-PG) on more effective and inclusive service delivery, particularly in underserved areas. This AF and the parent project were not included in the CPF, however, they respond to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, which has also increased the importance and prioritization of health protection and treatment in the country. By building the strength of the health system and its resilience to shocks, it is aligned with the focus of the CPF objective 2.2, which focuses on improving access to key human development services, specifically strengthening health service delivery. The AF, like the parent project, is also aligned with both global health priorities and IBRD/IDA priorities on improving pandemic preparedness.