The Bahamas COVID-19 Response (MIGA-14694)

Countries
  • Bahamas
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Mar 22, 2021
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Banco Santander,S.A.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Education and Health
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Ring Fence
  • Small & Medium Enterprises
  • Women
A financial intermediary is a commercial bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank, sometimes for a specific lending purpose. A "ring fence" is another name for this specific purpose. These funds are then used for lending by the financial intermediary to client companies or individuals.
Investment Type(s)
Guarantee
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 128.15 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ MIGA website

Updated in EWS May 10, 2022

Disclosed by Bank Sep 15, 2021

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

On April 28, 2021 MIGA signed a contract of guarantee for US$ 128.15 million, effective, April 28, 2021, with Banco Santander SA of Spain, for NHSFO coverage of its non-shareholder loan to the Ministry of Finance of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Proceeds of the loan facility will support the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), as part of the country's COVID-19 response program, and will be used to modernize the public health system and support MSMEs at a critical juncture. Approximately US$89 million of the facility will be allocated to the PHA to upgrade two public hospitals, procure medical equipment and fund its project management costs, and US$20 million will be granted to the SBDC for loan guarantees to MSMEs in an effort to preserve jobs, improve productivity, stimulate economic activity, and promote resiliency. While not explicitly gender focused, women-owned MSMEs will be the main beneficiaries due to their prevalence in SBDC's portfolio. The proposed guarantees will form part of MIGA's COVID-19 Response Program, Pillars 1 and 2a.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL CATEGORIZATION

THE PROJECT IS A CATEGORY B UNDER MIGA'S POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY (2013).CLICK HERETO VIEW THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL REVIEW SUMMARY.

DEVELOPMENTAL IMPACT

The financing will be primarily used to create a dedicated Infectious Disease Unit, renovate and expand PMH's Emergency Department and Imaging & Diagnostic Unit, increase medical facilities and bed capacity, including through the construction of a new multi-story tower facility, and purchase diagnostic medical equipment. In the context of SRC, the financing will enable the renovation and re-commissioning of wards and patient care environments to ensure appropriate spacing consistent with COVID-19 guidelines (among other things), a dedicated space for the treatment and management of COVID-19 cases, and a dedicated admission space for acute psychiatric patients. As a result of the improvements in existing healthcare facilities and creation of new facilities, bed capacity at PMH and SRC will increase, allowing for improved patient access, while strengthening the chronically strained public health system, which is now facing the additional strain from COVID-19. This component of the Project would be aligned with Pillar One of MIGA's COVID-19 fast-track facility.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://www.miga.org/contact/access_to_information

You can also request general information about MIGA and for information on guarantees by emailing: migainquiry@worldbank.org

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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How it works