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Lesson
Timely planning of project extensions and a more realistic extension period will improve loan utilization. Undisbursed amounts under this project resulted largely from new government policies as well as contextual and operational factors. Various activities were canceled because of government restrictions on the use of loan proceeds for soft components (e.g., training, workshops, etc). Non-disbursements were also associated with other policy modifications, such as restrictions on the recruitment of international consultants. But contextual and operational factors also played a role.

Project Number: 44265-013
Project Name: Second Health Care in the Central Highlands Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Comprehensive and disaggregated enterprise-level data are needed to effectively support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in times of crisis. The absence of a real-time disaggregated financial data collection system at the beneficiary level made it difficult to timely track the status of business recovery of affected MSMEs. The dataset collected and used in reports on MSME lending did not include comprehensive disaggregated enterprise-level data from the start, making it impossible to assess the inclusiveness of the concessional lending.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Data interoperability facilitates beneficiary targetting in times of crisis. Difficulty in consolidating data between federal, provincial, and local-level governments and between sectors affected program implementation and progress monitoring. While Nepal’s social security programs each identify and register beneficiaries, there is no central register for poor and vulnerable populations. Hence, the ward officials identified food support beneficiaries, which led to implementation challenges.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Purposeful selection of outcome Indicators that are easily and regularly monitored is critical in crisis response projects. There is a high level of uncertainty surrounding the duration and impact of a crisis. Thus, choosing outcome Indicators that provide timely and crucial information on the progress of the crisis and the impact of policy measures can help manage a crisis, as it allows to quickly introduce new measures when the situation worsens.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Do not propose establishment of a new business continuity fund during crisis. The business continuity fund was established during the crisis. Actual usage was far less compared with existing instruments for concessional lending and refinancing, as operationalization took time. Unless such a fund can be established on time, proposing a new fund during a crisis should be avoided when good instruments are available.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Quick and flexible budget support is essential during times of crisis. The timely availability of the ADB CPRO support greatly contributed to mitigating the impact of the pandemic, particularly for low-income countries and countries in vulnerable situations. Availability of such an instrument is highly relevant for a country in times of crisis.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Harness the role of community-based organizations for inclusiveness. Community-based organizations (CBOs) played an active role in implementing the PMEP, such as facilitating information dissemination in the community, collecting applications from interested unemployed individuals, and connecting them to ward offices. Similarly, CBOs helped the government in identifying poor and vulnerable people as recipients of its food distribution efforts and contributed to addressing food needs during the crisis.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Avoid assuming policy changes when setting targets in a crisis. The program design assumed that coordination of all government-subsidized employment would be transferred to the employment service centers established in each local government under the Prime Minister Employment Program (PMEP). Because of the impact of the crisis, this transfer did not happen and the PMEP was unable to achieve the target. A target set during a crisis should not assume a policy change.

Project Number: 54184-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Close and sustained engagement with the government and development is essential to the success of crisis response programs. This program’s design and implementation benefited from the strength of ADB’s close engagement with the government. ADB’s continuous policy dialogues with the government contributed to the government’s response strategy and development financing plan. The resulting close alignment also promoted ADB’s rapid processing, impactful design, and smooth implementation of the program.

Project Number: 54180-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Maintaining economic growth and protecting the vulnerable in crisis situations demand timely intervention and sizable stimulus package. The success of the government countercyclical program in maintaining economic growth and protecting vulnerable populations validated the effectiveness of the government’s approach.

Project Number: 54180-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB's COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) modality was effective. The CPRO program established a model for ADB to channel timely support to developing member countries to address major health and economic challenges. The speed of delivery, efficient implementation, and strong development impact achieved validate the success of this model, which can be deployed to further assist countries in their economic recovery.

Project Number: 54180-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The One ADB approach is effective in delivering in timely crisis response. A contributing factor to the timely delivery of COVID-19 assistance and support is the One ADB approach in program processing, especially the strong role of the resident mission. With all the relevant departments working as contributors and partners, this approach broke down barriers and improved communications, resulting in faster turnaround and higher-quality outputs. The resident mission played a critical role in the preparation of the program, policy dialogue, and the eventual implementation of the program.

Project Number: 54180-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
While cash support is vital for immediate relief and consumption smoothing during a crisis, which in turn reduces the adoption of risky coping strategies—such as reducing food intake, selling assets, or borrowing—it is important during the post-crisis or recovery period to introduce programs that increase poor and vulnerable households’ resilience to future shocks.

Project Number: 54214-001
Project Name: Shock-Responsive Social Protection Project
Report Date:
Lesson
Shock-responsive social protection mechanisms are effective in responding to the severe socioeconomic impact of global pandemics. Topping up existing benefits (known as vertical expansion) and using existing benefit delivery mechanisms allowed the government to respond quickly, ultimately reaching 80% of the population with cash support. This approach has also been adopted for pandemic response in other ADB developing member countries.

Project Number: 54214-001
Project Name: Shock-Responsive Social Protection Project
Report Date:
Lesson
During the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual mission and online meetings were conducted to ensure continued ADB technical support and monitoring of project implementation, which could be widely applied in the future, especially during periods of travel restriction.

Project Number: 44019-013
Project Name: Hubei Huangshi Urban Pollution Control and Environmental Management Project
Report Date: