project information. The lack of coordination with both from significant shortcomings. According to the United government and civil society led to weak implementation, Nations Independent Expert on debt, “despite the public including failure to implement environmental and messaging by the World Bank and the International social commitments and significant delays in delivery of Monetary Fund (IMF) to spend, their own commitments COVID-19 testing equipment and supplies.17 have fallen far short of promises and needs.”20 In Jordan, teachers, parents, students, and the national While most IFI support was delivered to countries rather teachers’ union were excluded from consultations around than to companies, that is not the full story. Government the COVID-19 restructuring of a World Bank-financed COVID-19 response funding in general predominantly education program. In July 2021, the government raided benefited the private sector. The Financial Transparency the union’s offices across the country, arrested its board Coalition’s Covid Bailout Tracker, for instance, found members and ordered it shuttered in a dispute over wages. that in eight of nine countries surveyed, an average of The World Bank declined to comment on the illegal closure 63 percent of announced COVID-19 funds went to large of the union and accusations by local CSOs that the corporations, while only a quarter of funds went towards prolonged closure of schools against the recommendations social protection.21 of public health experts was a union-busting tactic. 18 In Egypt, the World Bank financed two loans for the health sector response to COVID-19, totaling 57.2 million USD. While World Bank documents assert that GOVERNMENT COVID-19 RESPONSE FUNDING IN GENERAL PREDOMINANTLY BENEFITED THE PRIVATE SECTOR. the government “is intensifying its information sharing process and the engagement with stakeholders,” media As of November 2021, the Early Warning System Covid reports indicate otherwise. At the start of the pandemic, DFI Tracker found that 69% of development banks’ and while preparation for the Bank’s new loan was funding globally went to a public sector client, with underway, the government arrested doctors who spoke 31% going to the private sector22. It is important to out. More recently, it banned filming or photography note, however, that the private sector was a prominent inside COVID-19 medical facilities.19 indirect beneficiary even in support to public budgets. While the health sector received the most financing of any single sector, it only received 25% of total financing. IFI support for social protection was only a fraction of overall support, and insufficient to meet the need, while a disproportionate amount of IFI funds went to benefit the private sector The banking and finance sector received the next highest amount, in close tie with law and government, as well as SMMEs and midcaps, each at around 15%. Social/Vulnerable households on the other hand, only received 7.3% of funds, and only 1.5% went to water and sanitation.23 Similarly, of the World Bank’s Development Policy Operations implemented between January 2020 and April 2021, Public Administration and Social Support IFI-financed support to governments to implement cash transfers and other programs to support households with lost income and basic essentials, while critically needed, was inadequate and in many cases suffered 20 Report of the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, Yuefen Li “International debt architecture reform and human rights” https://undocs.org/A/76/167. 17 “Report on the Implementation of IDA’s Covid-19 Response Grant for Yemen,” Yemen Organization for Promoting Integrity, Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights, and Arab Watch Coalition, December 2020. 21 “Towards a People’s Recovery: Tracking Fiscal and Social Protection Responses to COVID-19 in the Global South”, Financial Transparency Coalition, April 2021, https://financialtransparency.org/ wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FTC-Tracker-Report-FINAL.pdf. 18 “Assessment Study on the Interventions of the World Bank in Support to Jordan’s Accelerated Education Sector Reforms and Response to COVID 19 Crisis”, Phenix Economic and Informatics Studies and Arab Watch Coalition, June 2021 22 See: bit.ly/COVID19_Tracker; See also “Never let a pandemic go to waste: How the World Bank’s Covid-19 response is prioritising the private sector”, Eurodad, October 13, 2020, https://www.eurodad.org/ never_let_a_pandemic_go_to_waste. 19 “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. 23 Early Warning System COVID-19 DFI Tracker, https://public. tableau.com/app/profile/iaptableau/viz/EarlyWarningSystemCOVID-19Pr ojectsbyDevelopmentBanks_16049749996170/Main?publish=yes. WHERE DID INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS’ COVID-19 FUNDING GO? 7