Yes! Three development banks: the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) will collaborate to support the Central American countries hit hardest by Hurricane Eta.
Representatives of the three development banks met virtually to marshal international resources for the Central American countries.
The joint action plan will include short-, medium- and long-term financing for humanitarian aid and reconstruction in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Hurricane Eta, which has downgraded to a tropical storm, has caused severe flooding and landslides in Central America after passing from Nicaragua into Honduras on Wednesday.
The joint effort comprises lines of credit and technical assistance. It will support governments’ efforts to assess the damage, deliver aid to affected populations and plan the interventions necessary to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure.
IDB President, Mauricio Claver-Carone said, “One of my goals is achieving closer collaboration with other multilaterals in order to prioritize actions and maximize resources. Emergencies such as this, in a context that is already extremely complicated due to COVID-19, make a coordinated and agile response by international organizations especially necessary.”
The World Bank Group’s President, David Malpass said, “We are going to give the countries impacted by Eta all the support they need to quickly assist the affected families, repair the damage and, what is very important in the medium term, build back better. A rapid and effective response is, as always in these cases, the highest priority.” Read more
