A US$30.4 million Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan recently extended to Guyana is intended to add weight to the country’s efforts to seek to maintain minimum levels of quality of life for vulnerable persons amidst the welfare-related pressures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Approval of the loan was announced on Tuesday December 8 and it is intended to target, particularly, the alleviation of the COVID-19-related hardships of vulnerable groups including low-income families, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and disadvantaged women. It will also help to respond to the negative impact which the pandemic has had on education delivery.
The IDB-approved loan is attended by two project components, namely, social protection and support for educational continuity.
Under its social protection component, the IDB loan seeks to support existing Old Age Pension and Public Assistance programmes and meet the electricity bills of vulnerable households utilising below 75 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity monthly. In addition to these, the loan also seeks to help cover the implementation of a Survivors Advocates Programme to help women who have been victims of violence access the criminal justice system and receive other forms of social assistance during their times of particular difficulty.
A portion of the IDB loan will also be allocated to an education component that will embrace the costs of financing initiatives intended to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the education sector. Specifically, it envisages the setting aside of funds to help prepare children for the re-opening of school. Additionally, the loan financing takes into account, initiatives undertaken by the state sector to develop educational resources, including content to be delivered to children from all levels through radio and television.
The funding also reportedly takes account of costs associated with the acquisition of text books, curriculum guides for teachers and infrastructure associated with the general upgrading of the amenities in state schools including water pumps and storage tanks. It is also expected that some of the funds will be spent on providing support for University of Guyana students. The loan programme aims to reach 56,000 beneficiaries of the Old Age Pension Service; 9,000 beneficiaries of the Public Assistance; 15,000 beneficiaries of electricity bill credits; 350 women victims of violence; 146,000 students who will receive education delivered through TV and radio; 35,000 students, who will receive textbooks and worksheets; and 1,765 beneficiaries of student loan relief.
