The World Bank committed to work with the government, communities, and other partners to ensure that the support it provides benefits Cambodia's overall development. Here are a few examples of World Bank assistance to Cambodia that has produced positive changes on the ground.
Education
Through the Education Quality Improvement Project, teachers, administrators, and communities from Takeo, Kandal, and Kampot provinces are working together to identify school-enhancement activities financed through annual school cluster grants that will improve childrens' education. Some of the activities include building new libraries, investing in education materials, providing teacher training, and improving the environment around schools. An independent impact evaluation concluded that: Average dropout rates declined and promotion rates increased the longer schools participated in the education improvement project. Participation in the project also led to higher scores on literacy and math exams. Teacher-training activities were relatively cost effective when compared to other types of education-development programs.
Environment
The Biodiversity and Protected Area Project is helping Cambodia minimize unsustainable exploitation and degradation of biodiversity by establishing an effective system of national protected areas. The experiences gained from this project are helping the government formulate a long-term strategic vision for the entire national protected areas system, and will help determine which conservation approaches are most effective.
Health
The Disease Control and Health Development Project is helping Cambodia reduce death and sickness from preventable diseases, and also rehabilitate the health system infrastructure. The project includes national program support for malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS control, as well as basic health-care improvements, including investments in medical equipment and essential medicine.
Agriculture
The Agriculture Productivity Improvement Program is working to boost the productivity of small farmers, which will in turn improve food security and increase rural incomes. Components of the project include investments in agronomy, seed and plant protection; advancing livestock care and production; and improved management of fisheries.
Land
The Land Management and Administration project is helping Cambodia improve land security and promote the development of an efficient land market by providing land holders with titles to their land. These changes will help reduce poverty, stimulate economic development, promote social stability, and improve environmental management. By the end of the project the government expects that about 1 million land titles will be provided to Cambodian families.
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Moving Ahead -- A Look at the World Bank's Work
The Bank lends money to Cambodia through the International Development Association, which provides interest-free loans to the world's poorest countries. Projects focus on rural infrastructure and rural development because the majority of the poor live in rural areas. The Bank also supports investments in improving health, education, and public sector reform. In addition, a number of projects aim to improve governance and the government's ability to deliver services effectively to the poor through ongoing analytical work on anti-corruption, legal and judicial reform, and capacity building.
In collaboration with the IMF, the Bank helped Cambodia develop a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which the Government completed in 2003 and calls the National Poverty Reduction Strategy. The World Bank adopted this approach in 1999 to help poor countries and their development partners strengthen the impact of their common efforts on poverty reduction. The Bank is currently developing a new Country Assistance Strategy for Cambodia for the years 2004 to 2007. The strategy will have a strong focus on improving governance and will calll attention to the issue as a key obstacle to growth and poverty reduction in Cambodia. Four cross-cutting areas of governance have been identified, including public administration and financial management, local governance and accountability, a framework for private sector development and investment, and access of the poor to productive assets. Some preliminary consultations have been held with civil society, donors, the private sector, and the transitional government.
The International Finance Corporation's Mekong Project Development Facility is supporting the development of private, domestically owned, small- and medium-scale enterprises in Cambodia. One of the Development Facility's priorities is the Hagar Project, an integrated housing and job-training program for destitute women and their children. The project is widely seen as one of Cambodia 's most effective poverty-fighting initiatives. Sponsored by the international Christian NGO Youth, With a Mission, the Hagar Project has developed an excellent track record of helping impoverished women rebuild their lives by learning new skills needed to generate a sustainable income. The Development Facility's assistance is helping scale up its most successful component, a handicraft business currently providing stable employment for 50 low-income women.
Changing the Way We Do Business
Cambodia's development partners are working to collaborate more closely with the Government in delivering on its development agenda, and to build the capacity of its institutions. The World Bank is developing its new Country Assistance Strategy in close partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the U.K.'s Department for Foreign Development. In addition, the Bank is working closely with other donors and with civil society organizations in Cambodia on a wide range of issues, including decentralization, forestry sector reform, public sector reform, private sector development. Additionally, the World Bank actively participates in a number of Government-led working groups focused on a range of development issues.
The World Bank co-chairs the Consultative Group with the Government which is a periodic meeting of the Government and donors to discuss Cambodia's development progress, challenges, and future needs.
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 Projects and Programs in Cambodia
How the World Bank Measures Results
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