Second STP COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Development Policy Operation

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The development objective of the Second COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Development Policy Financing in Sao Tome and Principe is to support the government's response to the human and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economy-wide and sectoral reforms for a stronger recovery. The programmatic series is organized around two pillars, each including several policy areas. Pillar 1 has the objective of mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on lives and livelihoods and strengthening investment in human capital. Policies under this pillar include emergency measures to protect lives and livelihoods through action in public health and social protection. To prepare Sao Tome and Principe (STP) better for future shocks, it also supports policies aimed at strengthening resilience. The pillar includes policies to reduce gender gaps in human capital and agency and improving equal access to education and reproductive health. Pillar 2 has the objective of mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on businesses and jobs and laying the foundations for higher and sustainable economic growth. Policies under this pillar in this first operation included COVID-19 response measures aimed at ensuring transparent and responsible use of public resources in the crisis response and enabling contactless, digital payments. Structural reforms supported under this pillar aim at overcoming STP’s chronically weak domestic revenue mobilization, debt transparency and the stability and inclusiveness of the financial sector. Finally, they aim at strengthening the connectivity of the island economy to enable growth in tourism and exports and address structural reforms and institutional gaps in the power sector.