World Bank to offer access to emergency funds from existing loans

The World Bank on Thursday said it approved new initiatives to allow member countries hit by natural disasters and other shocks to quickly access emergency funds from their existing loan programs to help them respond to an increasingly crisis-prone world.

The enhancements to the bank's Crisis Preparedness and Response Toolkit would allow countries to immediately receive up to 10% of undisbursed funds from an existing project loan or other facility for emergency response.

World Bank Managing Director for Operations Anna Bjerde said that a country with $3 billion undisbursed from a $5 billion loan portfolio could instantly access $300 million in the event of a hurricane, earthquake or pandemic, a liquidity burst that could save a lot of hardship.