 The World Bank has strengthened emphasis on working with government, communities, and other partners to ensure that support benefits Uruguay's overall development. The following are some examples where assistance has resulted in a positive impact on the ground.
Education | Energy |  Health | Natural Resources Management Education The Second Basic Education Quality Improvement Project provided greater access to and higher quality of preschool and elementary education by targeting the disadvantaged segments of the population. Under the project, a total of 136 new classrooms were built, 194 double shift classrooms (in 30 schools) were rehabilitated and converted to single shift, and 55 pre-existing full-time schools were rehabilitated. The project was also highly successful in improving the quality of education services. For instance, the percentage of 6th grade students reaching a satisfactory proficiency level in Language increased from 57.1 percent in 1996 to 66.3 percent in 2002, while their proficiency level in Mathematics increased from 34.6 percent to 48.3 percent during the same period. In addition, the project provided training to more than 1,900 preschool teachers in urban and rural schools.  Energy The Power Sector Modernization Project installed a new thermal plant, the Tablada, which enhanced the reliability of Uruguay’s power supply by providing more reserve capacity to be used in case of droughts (when the output of hydroelectric plants decreases). The project also supported the rehabilitation of the Montevideo distribution network by improving the reliability and quality of customer service due to fewer energy cuts of shorter duration. Additionally, the project enhanced the sector’s efficiency by improving the National Power and Transmission Company’s (UTE) managerial capability and reducing electricity losses. Health The Health Sector Development Project was instrumental in transferring greater autonomy to 32 public hospitals, which placed more emphasis on institutional responsibility and accountability, and resulted in improved service delivery and overall efficiency in the health sector. As a result of the reforms, many of the hospitals now carry out consumer satisfaction surveys and have opened new consumer service areas (including grievance offices and scheduled appointments), have introduced professional accounting practices, and are beginning to implement computerized procedures for proper beneficiary identification. Compared with the year 2000 baseline, the ten hospitals with 2001 performance agreements significantly increased their service delivery in response to increasing demand. For example, ambulatory visits went up by 60 percent in the primary care centers, surgeries increased by 10 percent, and the average length of stay went down by 20 percent. Furthermore, these hospitals showed annual savings equivalent to 8.5 percent of their total expenditures as well as a 19 percent cost reduction per patient. Natural Resources Management The Natural Resources Management and Irrigation Development Project developed and implemented a soil and water management strategy to increase, diversify and sustain agricultural output and exports by individual farmers. As a result of the project, over 2,400 farmers invested in expanding the irrigable area of Uruguay by almost 20 percent (35,000 ha to a total of 190,000 ha). Although the area under irrigated rice continued to represent a large percent of the total (about 77 percent), the project also supported diversification. Thus, the expansion of the area under irrigated rice financed by the project (19,000 ha) was almost entirely linked to the expansion of livestock production systems, in which irrigated rice and forage crops were integrated into land use in rotation with pastures. In addition, the project-supported expansion of the irrigated area under fruit and vegetable production (16,000 ha) represented an increase of over 100 percent of the initial area under these crops, thus contributing to a substantial increase in the production of high value crops and non-traditional exports.
For more information on World Bank assistance to Uruguay, including lending breakdown and project reports, see:
Proposed Projects
All Projects
Learn more about How the World Bank Measures Results.
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