The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 26-Oct-2020 | Report No: PIDA30476 Sep 27, 2020 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Rwanda P175252 Additional Financing for P173855 Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Response Project Parent Project Name Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency AFRICA EAST 26-Oct-2020 25-Nov-2020 Response Project Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Health, Nutrition & Population Investment Project Ministry of Finance Rwanda Biomedical Financing (MINECOFIN) Center Proposed Development Objective(s) Parent The objective of the Project is to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in the Republic of Rwanda. Components Component 1. Case Detection, Confirmation and Contact Tracing Component 2: Public Health Measures and Clinical Care Capacity Component 3. Implementation Management and Monitoring and Evaluation Component 4. Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 0.94 Total Financing 0.94 of which IBRD/IDA 0.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 0.94 Sep 27, 2020 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility 0.94 Environmental and Social Risk Classification Substantial Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. The coronavirus pandemic poses serious economic and public health threats to Rwanda. Rwanda was in the middle of an economic boom prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic growth exceeded 10 percent in 2019 driven mostly by large public investments for implementation of the National Strategy of Transformation. Strong growth was expected to continue in 2020. The global pandemic has disrupted international flows of goods and services with significant spillovers to the broader global economy. Rwanda is already feeling mounting balance of payment and fiscal pressures. This could negatively impact the provision of public health services with respect to COVID-19 response and preparedness capacity as well as adversely affect the provision of other essential health service delivery in Rwanda, as healthcare workers and fiscal resources are redirected to the emergency response. 2. The Government of Rwanda has demonstrated high-level leadership and taken swift action to tackle the risks associated with the ongoing pandemic and bend the curb on COVID-19. The effort to contain the potential spread of COVID-19 is led by the Office of the Prime Minister under the National Epidemic Preparedness & Response Committee (NEPRCC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, the Government set up a central COVID-19 Command Post which operates 24/7 to conduct contact tracing with three testing sites nationwide. The Government put in place a mandatory national lock down policy on March 21, 2020 which was in effect for two weeks and extended for another two weeks. This includes border closings and stringent social distancing policies (e.g. closing schools, churches, and bars; postponing conferences, mandating home-based work) and banning motorcycle drivers from carrying passengers. As of end September 2020, there are more than 4,830 cumulative confirmed cases, 65 percent has recovered, and only 29 deaths due to COVID-19. The most affected areas are Kigali (Capital city), Rubavu, Rusizi, Nyamasheke and Kirehe (cross border districts). Sectoral and Institutional Context 3. The Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Response Project, valued at US$14.25 million equivalent, is part of the COVID-19 Multiphase Programmatic Approach (MPA; P173789), which was approved by the WB management on April 7, 2020 and became effective on April 20, 2020. The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and Sep 27, 2020 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) strengthen national systems for public health preparedness. Specific objectives are as follows: (i) strengthen case detection and confirmation and conduct contact tracing; (ii) improve clinical care capacity; (iii) raise public awareness and promote community engagement; and (iv) bolster coordination, planning, logistical support, and reporting. 4. The parent project has been under implementation for nearly six months, and its implementation status is satisfactory. As of September 27, 2020, 72 percent of the total amount of US$14.25 million has been disbursed in nearly six months. This rapid disbursement was made possible because of the increase of the threshold for retroactive financing from 40 to 60 percent for emergency operations. Both Project Development Objective (PDO) and overall Implementation Progress (IP) have been rated Satisfactory since the commencement of implementation. 5. The Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) Steering Body met on April 27, 2020 and determined the allocation of the PEF funds. COVID-19 is one of the viruses covered by the PEF insurance window. Given all PEF activation criteria including outbreak size, spread and growth were met on March 31, 2020, the entire amount of US$195.84 million available under PEF for the COVID- 19 response being allocated to 64 of the world’s lowest income countries that are members of the World Bank’s International Development Association with reported cases of COVID-19 (as on April 22, 2020). 6. An allocation of US$1.0 million is being made available to Rwanda. All countries were informed of these allocations which included a US$1.0 million allocation for Rwanda which results in an Additional Financing of US$942,857 after deducting the fees. The PEF country payout must be utilized by the country by April 30, 2021. In this context, the World Bank agreed with the Government of Rwanda that additional financing to the ongoing parent project “Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Response Project (P173855)� is the fastest and most efficient way to enable Rwanda to benefit from the available resources. C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Original PDO The objective of the Project is to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in the Republic of Rwanda. Current PDO No change Key Results The proposed AF will be implemented as part of the ongoing parent project and its funding will be fully allocated for the procurement of SARS-CoV-2 test kits under Component 1. Increased country’s laboratory testing capacity with the WB’s support is critical in order to manage intermittent increases in new COVID-19 cases and continue to flatten the curve. Sep 27, 2020 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) D. Project Description 7. The AF is being processed to pull in the PEF resources to the IDA-financed parent project. The PEF country payout for Rwanda in the amount of US$ 942,857 will be utilized to scale up activities in the parent project to address existing gaps in testing and tracing. In addition, the parent project’s results framework will be modified to add two intermediate indicators to respond to the corporate requirements (citizen engagement and gender). No other changes are being introduced as part of the AF processing. The safeguards instruments that have been developed under the parent project, in compliance with the Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), will also apply to the proposed AF. 8. The full PEF allocation for Rwanda will be added to Component 1 of the IDA-financed parent project. As per the request from the Government of Rwanda, the PEF payout of US$942,857 will be allocated to the procurement of SARS-CoV-2 test kits under Component 1. 9. The project results framework will be modified to include one beneficiary feedback indicator to comply with the corporate requirement on citizen engagement in the project. The following indicator will be added as one of the project’s intermediate results indicator: Percentage of grievances documented, processed and resolved within 30 days. In addition, the following intermediate indicator will be added in the Results Framework to monitor total tests performed by the Government facilities, disaggregated by gender, to help track the performance of the program in reaching those most affected by COVID-19. . Legal Operational Policies Triggered? No Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . E. Implementation Institutional and Implementation Arrangements The implementing agency of the parent project is the Single Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), which has a good track record in handling fiduciary matters according to the WB guidelines. The AF will be implemented as part of the parent project under the same arrangements at the RBC/SPIU. . Sep 27, 2020 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) CONTACT POINT World Bank Miriam Schneidman Lead Health Specialist Naoko Ohno Senior Operations Officer Borrower/Client/Recipient Ministry of Finance (MINECOFIN) Christian Rugeri Treasury Counsel christian.rugeri@minecofin.gov.rw Implementing Agencies Rwanda Biomedical Center Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana Director General sabin.nsanzimana@rbc.gov.rw FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Miriam Schneidman Task Team Leader(s): Naoko Ohno Approved By Practice Manager/Manager: Sep 27, 2020 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Additional Financing for Rwanda COVID-19 Emergency Project (P175252) Country Director: Rolande Simone Pryce 28-Oct-2020 Sep 27, 2020 Page 7 of 7