USD$38 million in contingent disaster financing has been approved to help Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga respond to disasters caused by natural hazards and health emergencies from the Asian Development Bank.

The support comes from the fourth phase of the Pacific Disaster Resilience Program and will provide Kiribati with an $8 million grant, Samoa with a $10 million grant, Solomon Islands with a $5 million grant and a $5 million loan, and Tonga a $10 million grant. 

All four countries have made strong progress on building the resilience of their institutions, which build on the previous phases of the program.

ADB Director General for the Pacific, Leah Gutierrez said on 7 March, that the Pacific Disaster Resilience Program will provide the participating countries with quick disbursing, flexible budget support for urgent relief, and early recovery from disasters.

“Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Tonga are highly vulnerable to the impacts of natural hazards and health emergencies. ADB’s support to the Pacific under previous phases of the program has helped strengthen policy, legislative, and institutional arrangements to manage climate and disaster risk, including health emergencies.”

The program fills a financing gap common in the Pacific during disasters, providing a predictable and quick-disbursing source of financing for early response and recovery activities.

Meanwhile, this project is financed by a $5 million concessional loan from ADB's ordinary capital resources and a $33 million grant from the Asian Development Fund (ADF), which provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries.