Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HEPR) Umbrella Program

Supporting better health emergency preparedness and more effective responses

Given the urgency for stronger global health security and the need to help developing countries get better prepared for disease outbreaks, the World Bank Group established the new Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HEPR) Umbrella Program to support eligible countries and territories to improve their capacities to prepare for, prevent, respond and mitigate the impact of epidemics on people.

The HEPR Umbrella Program provides financing to low-income countries and to countries with low health emergency preparedness and response capabilities. The program was set up earlier this year to support low-income countries and countries with struggling health emergency responses in building resilience and increasing investments in health preparedness - including their immediate COVID-19 response. It is an important tool in the World Bank's pandemic response and longer-term health preparedness in countries that need support and their most vulnerable communities, including refugees.

Financial support is also available for countries that are unable to access regular for World Bank financing because they are in arrears with their payments to the International Development Association (IDA), and to Jordan and Lebanon for supporting Syrian refugees. Looking ahead, the program seeks to support more countries to meet critical needs.

Table of Countries Supported

Country	Amount
Support for Countries for Health Emergency Preparedness for Future Health Emergencies
IDA countries
Lao PDR	2,000,000
Madagascar	2,900,000
Timor-Leste	3,000,000
Republic of Congo	3,000,000
South Sudan	1,925,000
Regional proposal for cross border efforts
East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia)	5,000,000
IBRD countries (with significant gaps in health emergency preparedness)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,575,000
Eswatini	3,000,000
SUB-TOTAL	22,400,000
Support for Countries for Health Emergency Response to COVID
IDA countries
Cambodia	3,000,000
Lesotho	3,000,000
São Tomé and Príncipe	3,000,000
Sierra Leone	3,000,000
West Bank & Gaza	2,000,000
Countries not eligible for IDA
Sudan	6,500,000
Zimbabwe	5,000,000
Support for refugees
Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon	2,500,000
SUB-TOTAL	28,000,000
TOTAL	50,400,000

To ensure complementarity with other funding efforts, this Trust Fund is closely coordinated with the IDA Crisis Response Window, with Japan's Policy and Human Resources Developing Fund grants, and with the World Bank's COVID-19 response financing.

Finally, the HEPR Umbrella Program aims to work collaboratively with other programs both within and outside the Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice that share similar, complementary goals including the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). The GFDRR and HEPR umbrella programs at the World Bank share a commitment to help countries prepare for and respond to unexpected and unforeseeable events.