Country Assistance Strategy

The Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) is the most important World Bank country document. It is tailored to the needs and circumstances of each country and lays down the World Bank Group's development priorities, as well as the level and type of assistance the Bank will provide for a period of three years.

The CAS preparation is a participatory process. Before the adoption, key elements of the strategy are discussed with government representatives; and to ensure the widest possible involvement, public dialogues are also held, with Internet-based discussions taking place in many countries.

However, the CAS is not a negotiated document. Any differences between the country's own agenda and the Bank's strategy are highlighted in the CAS document. A progress report is issued in the intervening year. More information is available at the World Bank CAS website.

Country Assistance Strategy for Lesotho

The World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Lesotho, which is based on the goals set out in Lesotho’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, defines the nature and extent of support that the Bank will provide to Lesotho between 2010 and 2014. The CAS centers around four main strategic objectives:

• fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic
• sustainable growth and job creation
• improved human development outcomes and decentralization
• service delivery and monitoring and evaluation

The World Bank is committed to supporting development activities that focus on reducing poverty and inequalities and thus result in sustainable development. The World Bank Group is convinced that sustainable development can best be achieved when the strategies for reaching development goals arise from within the country itself. Thus in developing the CAS, Bank staff consulted with a broad cross-section of civil society, government, academia, private sector, Lesotho’s development partners, local and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) based in the country.

The CAS provided a plan for the high-level analytic work, policy dialogue with Lesotho government and society, projects, and cooperative efforts through which the World Bank Group seeks to be a responsible and reliable development partner for Lesotho.

For more information, please refer to the Lesotho CAS document.