The country has $3.07 billion in COVID-related loans from the World Bank yet the latest Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index ranks the Philippines last | via nolisoliph
The World Bank just tagged the Philippines as its top borrower for the fiscal year 2021, with $3.07 billion in loans that the country sought for its fight against COVID-19. The funds were also lent to boost the local economy as we have the biggest pandemic-induced output gap in the East Asia and Pacific region.
Based on the World Bank’s 2021 annual report, the Philippines had the biggest output gap of 8.4 percent in the region in 2020. The output gap reflected the difference between pre-pandemic economic potential against actual performance amid the pandemic. [READ: The government’s pandemic response: What’s changed since last year?] IBRD and the International Development Association’s commitments to the country totaled $6.21 billion from 2017 to 2021, of which gross disbursements to date amounted to $5.47 billion. The undisbursed balance from these loans amounted to $2.74 billion.
Out of 121 countries, we have the lowest scores based on the following metrics, with each subcategory worth 10 points for a total of 90: