vulnerable to the pandemic, it lacked clear provisions to In India, an ADB and AIIB-supported grain distribution ensure that health services are accessible for persons with program was plagued with dysfunction and irregularities. disabilities. While virtual consultations were held with According to news reports, amid growing rates of civil society groups, persons with disabilities and their starvation, government claims about the amount of organizations were not included.27 grain distributed and the amount of money spent were significantly inflated. “Not only was the grain provided In Bolivia, IDB-financed projects, including cash transfer through [the program] far less than what was promised, programs to support groups in vulnerable situations, a complete lack of planning and haphazard decision- failed to address the unique reality of Indigenous Peoples, making also resulted in delays and large-scale exclusion many of whom live in remote territories without access to in distribution of the grain.” Most notably, grain government services. Indigenous Peoples’ organizations designated for migrants, who were possibly the hardest reported an inability in accessing benefit programs. hit by the lockdown, was never distributed.30 28 In Kenya, many of those households eligible for the cash Lack of transparency and accountability led to dysfunction and corruption in IFI-financed COVID-19 relief, and in some cases cost lives. In many countries, the state of emergency together with the lockdown restrictions created the perfect conditions for malfeasance and corruption. This was exacerbated by the lack of transparency from both governments and IFIs, and the failure of IFIs to include effective monitoring mechanisms. In Iraq, the World Bank reallocated 59.4 million USD in infrastructure and public services financing for procurement of medical equipment and training. Researchers found that no project documents on the COVID-19 response were disclosed and World Bank documents do not mention COVID-19-related activities. The lack of information has made it difficult to track the implementation of the project, and requests for information from the project team were ignored. Investigation with local stakeholders failed to produce any evidence that promised ambulances and medical transfer program supported by the African Development Bank and the IMF never received support. Researchers identified widespread corruption and favoritism in the program’s implementation that left out large numbers of people living in informal settlements.31 In Bangladesh, corruption and mismanagement in the IFI-supported COVID-19 response has cost lives. Researchers report that low-quality protective equipment was procured for healthcare workers. “Many doctors became infected and died, making Bangladesh’s doctors’ mortality rate the highest in the world.” Doctors who raised concerns about the protective equipment have been subject to retaliatory actions. The government has also criminalized journalists and activists who have exposed malfeasance and corruption in the COVID-19 response.32 In Egypt tests of the grievance mechanism utilized by a World Bank-financed project revealed a general hotline that either disconnects or refers callers to a website that is difficult to maneuver. When a researcher did receive a reply two months after the complaint was filed, the response was not informative and it rather seemed intended to deter the complainant from following through with the grievance process.33 equipment were actually procured.29 30 “Country Assessment Report COVID-19 recovery loans in India”, Growthwatch India, 2021 27 “Inclusivity examination of the World Bank Emergency Response to COVID19 in Lebanon”, Lebanese Union for People with Physical Disabilities and Arab Watch Coalition, December 2020 31 “We are all vulnerable here: Kenya’s Pandemic Cash Transfer Program Riddled With Irregularities”, Human Rights Watch, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/07/20/we-are-all-vulnerable-here/ kenyas-pandemic-cash-transfer-program-riddled#. 28 Palacios, D, “Estudio de consultoría realizado por encargo del CEDLA para realizar un análisis sobre los préstamos del BID en la Región: caso Bolivia referidos al COVID-19”, CEDLA, May 14, 2021 32 Country Assessment Report on COVID-19 Recovery Loans Provided by Bilateral and Multilateral Financial Institution in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt, Change Initiative and NGO Forum on ADB, August 2021 29 “Research Paper on the Monitoring, the Follow-up and the Assessment of the World Bank’s Covid-19 Emergency Response in Iraq”, The Organization of Women and Children and Arab Watch Coalition, 2021 33 “Snapshot Review of Two World Bank COVID-19 Health Support Programs in Egypt”, Shamseya for Innovative Community Healthcare Solutions and Arab Watch Coalition, August 2021 WHERE DID INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS’ COVID-19 FUNDING GO? 9