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Lesson
Partnerships and cofinancing possibilities need to be further explored, considering that traditional and emerging bilateral and multilateral partners have a strong presence in the Pacific which could provide opportunities for greater collaboration.

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
A more systematic tracking of performance across countries, which could build on new assessment frameworks developed under the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) program in some areas of DRM, could enhance the innovations introduced by this program, particularly phasing of interventions and a differentiated approach that addresses the challenges of implementing planning, policy, and legal frameworks in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS) and small island developing states (SIDS).

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Increasing disaster risk financing (DRF) in participating DMCs is critical to reduce negative impacts on lives, livelihoods, and economic and fiscal outcomes. The program contributed to significantly higher pre-disaster financing, helping to partially fill gaps following a disaster event. Three aspects could be further explored. First, CDF was created for medium-scale disaster events that occur about every 3–10 years, whereas, in practice, qualifying events in the Pacific have occurred with greater frequency and led to higher levels of damages in certain countries.

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Addressing specific risks and impacts affecting women in disaster situations can make a tangible difference for women and vulnerable groups in and beyond the disaster context. Among the approaches shown viable are enabling the participation of women and other vulnerable groups in planning and decision-making, ensuring that resilience efforts benefit them, and making disaster responses more responsive to their needs.

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Sustained commitment, coordination, and collaboration are critical foundations for the continued effectiveness of the CDF modality, as capacity limitations and competing political priorities pose challenges in many small Pacific DMCs.DMCs have remained committed to reforms during and after the first two phases. The program improved in coordination and collaboration between borrower entities responsible for finance and DRM.

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Staffing and consultant resources for country engagement as well as technical assistance (TA) appear still limited relative to the number of countries and the program scope. ADB’s role in coordinating and systematically addressing DRM has been strengthened through the program. The attached TA has been playing a growing role in boosting ADB capacity (including for knowledge building and sharing), and the overlap and continuity of the new TA attached to the program’s fourth phase approved in 2023 is positive.

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
The potential for success of any innovation cannot be established without taking risks.Taking the risk of an innovative program design that piloted the use of the policy-based lending (PBL) modality for contingent disaster financing (CDF)—for only the second time in ADB (following the Cook Islands’ Disaster Resilience Program) and the first time at the regional level—has led to significant success. It contributed to policy change and product innovation at ADB.

Project Number: 50028-001, 50028-002
Project Name: Pacific Disaster Resilience Program (Phases 1 and 2)
Report Date:
Lesson
Mobilizing local project management expertise can be beneficial. The modification of the project management consulting contract to increase the inputs of national staff proved beneficial. Local and national staff who work closely with experienced international consultants as part of a team of a competitively selected consulting firm have the opportunity to acquire skills and hone them. This is good and in line with ADB's capacity development objectives in developing member countries.

Project Number: 42401-014
Project Name: Power Distribution Enhancement Investment Program (Multitranche Financing Facility)
Report Date:
Lesson
A rational tariff policy is essential for improving the financial viability of a distribution utility. Two tariff revisions (in 2016 and 2021) helped improve the financial viability of Azerishiq's distribution-strengthening projects. Although the upgrade of distribution systems is still not fully financially viable, an improving financial internal rate of return (into positive territory) illustrates the benefits of lifting tariffs toward full cost recovery.

Project Number: 42401-014
Project Name: Power Distribution Enhancement Investment Program (Multitranche Financing Facility)
Report Date:
Lesson
Accessibility of healthcare data in Azerbaijan needs to be improved. Reports from the Ministry of Health Care are not publicly available on its website. In addition, the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance considers healthcare information to be highly sensitive. Accordingly, this information is not contained on its website. Information related to daily coronavirus infections and vaccinations was released publicly. It would be useful for the agency to disseminate gender, age, and region-disaggregated information to the public.

Project Number: 55073-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Sex-disaggregated data need to be accurate and usable for in-depth analyses to support policy development and program planning and implementation. The government has increased its focus on gender equality and has made significant progress on gender data tracking and transparency. Although there are a few publicly available national resources, they lack qualitative information.

Project Number: 55073-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Insufficient up-to-date macroeconomic data on government websites, which could hinder timely and effective planning especially during crisis periods, needs to be rectified. The State Statistical Committee (SSC) has numerous macroeconomic indicators on its website. However, in most cases, very recent data are missing. International organizations such as ADB, the IMF and the World Bank release forecasts of macroeconomic indicators for upcoming years, and SSC should consider following the same approach.

Project Number: 55073-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project is transformational. It has expanded the development of one of the largest gas fields in the world, which will help (i) more than double gas production from the field; and (ii) increase the country’s gas production by 67% during the same period. This will help strengthen the Azerbaijani economy and create more fiscal space for economic diversification.

Project Number: 49451-002
Project Name: Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project
Report Date:
Lesson
The partial credit guarantee (PCG) modality was a good choice for this transaction. It enabled ADB sovereign operations to come as close as possible to enabling the IA to obtain commercial financing for a commercially viable project in a country with a below-investment-grade rating. With a One ADB approach, it showed the way to achieve close and collaborative work between ADB’s sovereign and nonsovereign departments. Its 95% cover was important because it facilitated the raising of commercial finance.

Project Number: 49451-002
Project Name: Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB played an important role in country risk mitigation. ADB’s partial credit guarantee (PCG) to the Southern Gas Corridor Closed Joint-Stock Company (SGC) made possible SGC’s access to necessary private sector refinancing to meet its financial commitments to Shah Deniz Stage II (SD2) and the midstream pipelines. This reduced government dependence on the country’s dwindling oil and gas revenues held by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) to meet expenditure obligations.

Project Number: 49451-002
Project Name: Shah Deniz Gas Field Expansion Project
Report Date: