September 4, 2007 – In the West African country of Niger since 2005 some 265,000 people living in urban areas have gained access to clean water. In Madagascar, 1,800 schools, clinics, roads, markets, and irrigation facilities have been rebuilt since cyclones devastated the northern part of the island in 2004. In Nigeria, 600 community-based, poverty reduction programs are underway and 14 states in the country have established HIV/AIDS programs.
These are just some of the results of programs in the region which are benefiting from a record US$5.8 billion year of lending to African countries by the World Bank’s International Development Association or IDA.
Established in 1960, IDA provides interest-free loans and grants to the world’s poorest countries. Africa is home to 39 of those countries. In 2001, IDA lending totaled US$ 6.8 billion with $3.4 billion going to Africa, according to Bank figures.
But, in 2007 that number has soared. The reason: a major push to meet the goals of the Africa Action Plan, a comprehensive program designed to help countries in the region achieve results on their development efforts. Those efforts fall in line with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, aimed at halving extreme poverty by 2015.
“The Africa Action Plan provides a result-oriented framework for supporting the efforts of African countries towards successfully attaining their development goals,” said World Bank Africa Region Vice President Obiageli Ezekwesili. “IDA remains a vital partner in achieving results on the ground, by improving the livelihoods of Africa’s people through, for example, health, education, infrastructure, and public sector projects.”
IDA lending to Africa between July 2006 and June 2007 reached US$5.8 billion. A majority of the money was spent on infrastructure projects in the region. Spending in that sector exceeded Bank targets and went from US$1.5 billion in 2006 to US$2.4 billion in 2007.
The surge in infrastructure investment over the past decade has helped deliver more and better services on the ground. In the past ten years 66 million people have obtained connections to electricity and since 2002, 1.7 million gained access to clean water. The region benefited from improvements in transport with 120,000 km of either new or maintained and rehabilitated roads. Farm economies were further supported by the expansion of irrigation systems on 15,000 hectares of farm land and by assistance to farmers to shift from subsistence to high value crops.
Also since 2002, World Bank-financed investments in health and education helped the region put 15 million more children in school, build and rehabilitate 50,000 classrooms and train 90,000 teachers. Treatment for HIV reached 1.5 million pregnant women and a seven-fold increase in malaria commitments is changing life prospects for 31.5 million under-five children.
HIV and AIDS, a Key Focus
While a majority of the 2007 IDA credits went to finance new projects focused on health, agriculture, development, and infrastructure, a portion of the money – some US$263 million – increased funds to existing projects that have shown remarkable results on the ground.
A Comprehensive Fight Against HIV/AIDS in Rwanda
Two projects focused on HIV/AIDS – the Rwanda Multi-Sectoral HIV/AIDS Project and the HIV/AIDS Program Development Project in Nigeria – received US$10 million and US$60 million respectively.
“The Government of Rwanda has made important strides in scaling up access to HIV/AIDS services, improving coverage, and removing financial barriers for the poor,” said World Bank Senior Health Specialist Miriam Schneidman. “HIV messages have been effectively combined with poverty reduction strategies and innovations in service delivery and the management of drugs and human resources have been widely introduced.”
In Nigeria some three million people are living with HIV/AIDS, giving the country the third largest HIV/AIDS population in the world after India and South Africa. A Bank-supported project, implemented at the federal, state, and local government level, has established programs aimed at reducing the risk of the disease through behavior change, improving access to HIV/AIDS counseling, testing and care services, strengthening support services, and reducing stigmatization.
“We are happy with this additional funding for [the] HIV/AIDS program in Nigeria by the World Bank,” said Nigerian Minister of Health Prof. Epitayo Lambo. “The Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to the fight against the disease and will continue to provide the needed leadership in the battle against the disease.”
According to Lambo, since 2000 Nigeria has allocated N$3.2 billion to the National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS.
Several Projects Show Good Performance
Other projects that have shown evidence of improving lives in the countries where they are established, and consequently have received additional IDA funding in fiscal year 2007 include:
Kenya Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMP) – US$60 million
Nigeria Water Sector Project – US$10 million
Madagascar Community Development Fund (FID IV) -- US$18 million
Liberia Emergency Infrastructure Project – US$16.5 million
Madagascar Second Community Nutrition Project -- $10 million
Community Based Poverty Reduction Project (CPRP) in Nigeria – US$25 million
Mali Second Education Sector Investment Program (PISE II) – US$15 million
Mali Agricultural Services and Producer Organization Support Project (PASAOP) -- $20 million
Madagascar Transport Infrastructure Investment Project (TIIP) – US$15.6 million
Madagascar Mineral Resources Governance Project (PGRM) – US$8 million
Madagascar Governance and Institutional Development Project (GDPI) – US$5 million
Water and Irrigation in Niger
“These programs have shown visible results and have complemented country efforts towards sustained growth in the continent; improvements in socio-economic indicators and the vigorous pursuit of good governance,” said Ezekwesili. “Given that the continent continues to face great needs, our partner countries expect us to demonstrate our commitment through a significant scale up in IDA resources”.
In Madagascar, where the Bank has partnered with the government to help reduce chronic malnutrition among children and pregnant and lactating women, over two million people have benefited from the record year of IDA lending.
“In the project areas on average, children that have been two years in the program, the malnutrition rates have gone down by 10 percentage points [in general] in terms of underweight,” said Montserrat Meiro-Lorenzo, senior public health specialist and project team leader. “Chronic malnutrition has gone down by four percent.”
Total Bank commitments across all regions in fiscal year 2007 came to $34.3 billion in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees, up $2.7 billion, or 7.8 percent from fiscal year 2006. Global IDA commitments added up to $11.9 billion, 25 percent higher than the previous year, and the highest in IDA history. IBRD commitments totaled $12.8 billion. The International Finance Corporation, which makes equity investments in member countries, committed $8.2 billion, an all-time high. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Investment Agency (MIGA), the Bank’s political risk insurance arm, provided $1.4 billion in guarantees, with $387 million going to projects in low-income countries eligible for IDA financing.
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