Since the beginning of the World Bank's presence in Ethiopia in 1945, the Bank's support has been directed towards assisting the country to achieve sustainable economic growth while reducing poverty with over 100 projects. Currently, the Bank's Interim Country Assistance Strategy (ICAS) focuses on both good governance and growth as the central pillars of the Bank’s support to Ethiopia. Working in harmony with donor partners (who are expected to take the lead on implicitly political aspects of the governance agenda), the Bank’s overarching objective in this ICAS is to support the Government in developing and implementing, in consultation with citizens, a strengthened program of institution building and governance reform that will help in its efforts to accelerate pro-poor growth. The analytical agenda will address the fundamental policy issues which Ethiopia along with its development partners will need to unlock to successfully move the development and poverty agendas forward. Key studies and reports that will be undertaken during the ICAS period include the Institutional and Governance Review, the Joint Budget and Aid Review (JBAR), an Investment Climate Assessment survey update, Civil Society dialogue, a study on Decentralized Service Delivery, a Rural PER, and a new Country Economic Memorandum on Governance and Growth that will update the recently completed CEM.
To further the above objectives, projects recently approved include:
| | | |  | Electricity Access Rural Expansion Project Phase II: a US$130 million project which aims to bring grid, mini-grid and off-grid electricity access to 295 towns and villages and provide such services as lighting for schools and clinics, benefiting a total population of about 1.8 million. By providing reliable and affordable electricity to rural communities, the project potentially will enhance income-generating opportunities, improve health care and education, and boost agricultural productivity. Better and cleaner lighting will also have a positive impact on the operating hours of the schools and on the hours available for children to study at night. Public street lighting will improve the quality of life and the safety of the population living in the communities. Read more... | |  | | | | | | Irrigation and Drainage Project: a US$ 100 million project that aims to promote a more equitable distribution of the returns on investments in irrigated agriculture between direct and indirect beneficiaries. It will help accelerate the existing land certification program, encourage private investors in agro-processing, marketing, input supply and service provision. The project will establish accountable and transparent irrigation management and develop a value chain for produce originating in the irrigation area. The project represents an important milestone in the Nile Basin Initiative, demonstrating the benefits of political dialogue, institutions building and technical work among 10 countries that have moved from dispute to cooperative development of a shared river system. Together with the Egypt West Delta project, the Ethiopia Irrigation and Drainage project is the first in a series of Nile investments under preparation, totaling more than $700 million. The Irrigation and Drainage project represents the Bank’s first re-engagement in new irrigation development in the Nile Basin for about 3 decades. Read more... | |  | | | | | | | Road Sector Development (Phase 2) Project, a US$ 87.3 million which supports Ethiopia’s Road Sector Development Program, seeks to increase the road transport infrastructure and improve its reliability; strengthen the capacity for road construction, management and maintenance; and create conditions conducive to private sector participation in the road transport sector. Read more ...
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World Bank-financed projects in prior years have focused on HIV/AIDS, post-war emergency recovery and rehabilitation, assistance of the demobilization and reintegration of soldiers, women’s development, capacity building for decentralized service delivery, and food security. For more information, refer to All Projects. |
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