What Does the Global Shield Financing Facility (GSFF) Do?
The World Bank’s Global Shield Financing Facility (GSFF) supports vulnerable countries and communities with increased access to climate shocks, disasters, and crises by:
- Enhancing financial protection against disasters and climate shocks for vulnerable countries through analytical, advisory, and operational expertise.
- Strengthening partnerships with non-traditional stakeholders, including regional risk pools, the private sector, civil society organizations, and humanitarian organizations.
- Helping address financial protection gaps by providing strategic partnerships, technical advisory services, and integrated financial packages that offer coordinated and consolidated financial support to the vulnerable.
Program financial protection packages through World Bank country engagements
Teams prepare the project as per the World Bank (WB) project cycle, where the Disaster Risk Finance (DRF) engagement is a component within a larger WB project or a standalone Recipient Executed Trust Fund. The project’s design is guided by the GSFF project appraisal criteria, ensuring that the DRF engagement is well-structured and aligns with the project objectives.
EXAMPLE: An $8.5 million grant for Rwanda supports a $150 million World Bank operation. The project protects low-income farmers and agribusinesses with high-quality insurance in the event of agricultural shocks and, through a shock-responsive guarantee, protects banks and MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) from climatic shocks such as drought and compound shocks.
Transfer funds to partners for activities that align with the Facility’s development objective.
Approval is required from the GSFF Steering Committee for any transfer outs requested by eligible transferees, which include eligible UN organizations and multilateral institutions that can access resources from World Bank trust funds. The donors of the GSFF make all decisions on transfer outs. The World Bank does not have fiduciary oversight on any funds transferred out.
EXAMPLE: World Food Program (WFP): WFP received US$20 million from Germany and the United Kingdom through the World Bank’s Global Shield Financing Facility to support the expansion of WFP’s climate and disaster risk financing cover in 23 countries across the globe, protecting up to 4.6 million people from climate risks over the next two years.