The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed $20.5 billion of its own resources in 2022 to help Asia and the Pacific continue its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic despite new economic problems and crises.
The financial and operating results, published in the ADB Annual Report 2022Summary The bank used the financing and leveraged partnerships to help the region cope with economic shocks exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the worsening food crisis, and extreme weather events.
“Our support in 2022 helped our developing member countries cope with the immediate effects of these crises, while strengthening their long-term resilience in critical areas such as climate change and food security,” said Masatsugu Asakawa, President of the ADB.
The $20.5 billion consists of loans and guarantees, grants, equity investments, and technical assistance to governments and the private sector. The ADB mobilized another $11.4 billion in co-financing.
The ADB committed $6.7 billion in climate adaptation and mitigation finance in 2022, advancing its ambition to provide $100 billion in cumulative climate finance over 2019-2030.
To address the region’s worsening food crisis, ADB provided $3.7 billion under its $14 billion food security program, delivering essential food aid to those most in need and strengthening production systems food.
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To support economic recovery, the ADB financed institutional reforms, strengthened public service delivery and growth in key economic sectors. The $3.9 billion ADB committed to the private sector included vital liquidity support for companies facing a difficult business environment.
At the same time, the bank made far-reaching investments in quality infrastructure, as well as in education, health, and other social sectors that helped bolster the resilience of the entire economy.
The promotion of gender equality continued to feature prominently in ADB’s work, with 97% of the bank’s operations in 2022 contributing to this goal. These operations included initiatives to improve women’s access to quality jobs, foster women’s entrepreneurship, and increase women’s resilience to climate change.
The 2022 Annual Report provides details on how ABS is evolving to better meet the changing and complex needs of its Mediterranean partner countries.
This includes measures to unlock further resources to support the region’s development through an ongoing review of the bank’s capital adequacy framework, as well as structural and non-structural organizational reforms guided by a new operating model.
“I am confident that these reforms will ensure that ADB has a greater impact in the region, among other things by increasing climate finance, mobilizing more private sector investment and offering a broader range of development solutions in response to the needs of customers,” Asakawa said.
