The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank have jointly launched two new development projects in the Pacific, using a recently approved co-financing model designed to cut administrative duplication and accelerate implementation in small island states. The initiative marks the first deployment of the Full Mutual Reliance Framework, which enables one institution to act as the lead lender while the other relies on its processes, freeing up time and resources for delivery. The first project focuses on Fiji’s escalating non-communicable disease crisis. Diabetes is now the country’s leading cause of death, with an amputation occurring roughly every eight and a half hours. The new programme aims to improve clinical quality, expand early detection and reduce the overall prevalence of NCDs. Fiji’s Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel said the investment will support a shift toward prevention and improved long-term health outcomes.
The second project, valued at 120 million dollars in grants, will upgrade transport, water and urban infrastructure in Tonga. It is the largest development partner-funded project in the country to date. Planned works include improved drainage and a new 720 metre bridge across a lagoon near Nuku’alofa, intended to relieve congestion and provide a safe evacuation route during natural disasters such as tsunamis.
Speaking at the joint launch, World Bank President Ajay Banga said that countries with limited administrative capacity were spending excessive time coordinating between lenders instead of implementing projects. The new framework is intended to eliminate this bottleneck by allowing development banks to rely on one another’s standards and due diligence processes.
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Banga added that roughly twenty additional co-financed projects are already in preparation, covering sectors including energy, transport, healthcare, agribusiness and social protection. Discussions are also underway with other multilateral development banks, including the EBRD, IDB and AfDB, to adopt similar models and move toward a more coordinated global development finance system.
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