The World Bank in Asia: An assessment of COVID-19-related investments through a care lens. Care-responsive investments and development finance

International financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral development banks have been playing a vital role in the response, recovery and ‘build back anew’ agenda from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially true of the World Bank Group (WBG), given its high volumes of committed investments across sectors, especially in low-income and vulnerable countries. This report presents, through case studies, how care-responsive the World Bank’s COVID-19-related investments have been in four member countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal and the Philippines. It does so by using the Care Principles and Care-Responsive Barometer for IFIs to assess the nature of the WBG’s post-COVID recovery investments in these select countries, and by building evidence through a gender- and care-responsive budget review. The foundation for care inclusion has already been laid in WBG policy. The report uses this as an entry point to urge it to bring women’s unpaid, underpaid and paid work to the centre of the IFI agenda in order to move towards rebuilding a more gender-just and equal future.