Appraisal Program Information Document (PID) - Tonga Second Resilience Development Policy Operation with a Catastrophe-Deferred Drawdown Option - P172742 (English)

The proposed operation contributes to the first theme of the RPF—fully exploiting the available economic opportunities—by supporting the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is critical to relaxing strict border restrictions and supporting the recovery of the tourism sector. [...] Finally, the program supports the fourth focus area—strengthening the enablers of growth and opportunities—by strengthening fiscal policy and liability management so as to build fiscal buffers and improve the resilience of the government to shocks, and enhancing financial sector stability through credit unions legislation. [...] The operation supports actions related to the themes of “Climate Change”, “Jobs and Economic Transformation” and “Gender and Development” and the cross-cutting issue of “Debt”, and builds on reforms supported by DPO1 and the ‘Dual Shocks’ DPO, as well as several investment projects and technical assistance activities. [...] The DRFS 2021–2025 will strengthen financial resilience of the government, households, and business to disasters and climate change by coordinating ongoing and planned efforts to quantify, reduce, and mitigate disaster-related financial risk. [...] The results indicator targets the finalization of national registries of public schools and health facilities that include vulnerability information, and are used to inform policy and operational decisions to enhance the resilience of public assets.