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Lesson
The development partner assistance was ambitious. Its timeliness and the volume of ADB's Comprehensive Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (CPRO) financial assistance were well-received by the government. However, this led to a rushed design and inadequate attention to monitoring of implementation, particularly regarding existing capacities to collect gender-disaggregated data in the absence of any existing digital social security systems.

Project Number: 54243-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
A comprehensive social welfare framework can greatly strengthen the impact of emergency response measures and programs that were intended to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable households. As intended, the program helped to successfully mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens and businesses. It was aligned with ADB's Strategy 2030 and the Pacific Approach.

Project Number: 54243-001
Project Name: Health Expenditure and Livelihoods Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
Quick disbursing budget support is an effective instrument to respond to a crisis. Such an approach allows for strong alignment with government priorities and supports the government's ownership of the response measures. The eligibility criteria provide the necessary framework for due diligence. Timely upstream support can then be complemented with other forms of support–technical assistance, knowledge work, project investments–to reinforce the intended impact.

Project Number: 54138-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
ADB staff and departments faced an unprecedented challenge in proceeding (urgently) with program development while learning how to apply the criteria and template for the new COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) modality and applying the 'One ADB' review process.

Project Number: 54169-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
It is important to maintain some degree of flexibility to effectively respond to crisis situations. Perhaps the most important quality of Thailand’s CARES program was its ability to rapidly mobilize demand-driven support in a crisis; highlighting the importance in future crisis responses of maintaining some degree of flexibility in both program design and implementation. ADB was able to process and approve the program within 3 months of the government’s initial request for support. Events in Thailand necessitated loan signing to take place about 4 months after ADB approval.

Project Number: 54177-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
The urgency of the lending produced outcomes that, while unavoidable, are nevertheless instructive. For example, target setting was difficult because the contours of the pandemic were fluid. Liaising with the government was also challenging. The timeline for initial response was tight, and ADB worked with a small number of government teams in the interest of speed. This concentrated approach to planning was complicated by the pandemic affecting government officials’ health and well-being personally.

Project Number: 54139-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date:
Lesson
It is important to digitalize government services in times of crisis. This effort is best pursued through collaboration with the private sector in Indonesia. The collaboration can strengthen the country's defense against future outbreaks and improve the targeting of social assistance. Digitalization including ithe financial sector should remain a focal point of ADB’s policy dialogue with Indonesia.

Project Number: 54139-001
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
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
Using third parties to monitor implementation, especially in situations where mobility and ADB missions are constrained, helps ensure the attainment of intended results. The government partnered with the Red Crescent, private sector, and civil society organizations to vaccinate all residents of Maldives, including foreign workers with no official work permits.

Project Number: 54189-001
Project Name: COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program
Report Date: