To commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) 2021, the Asian Development Bank, in collaboration with World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Inter-American Development Bank, will host a series of webinars to reach global audiences. This year’s IDAHOTB comes against the backdrop of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has adverse effects on vulnerable groups like sexual and gender minorities, a group that World Health Organization and others have found to be at greater risk during the pandemic.   

The global theme of IDAHOTB this year is “Together: Resisting, Supporting, Healing” and the multilateral development banks (MDBs) have agreed to center the week-long commemoration around the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and gender minorities and the development response to help mitigate social and economic risks of the pandemic on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people.