Contact:
In Washington: Dina El Naggar (202) 473-3245
Delnaggar@worldbank.org Washington29 April, 2008- The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today a grant in the amount of US 3 million to finance the Djibouti Urban Poverty Reduction Project. The proposed project is part of an overall Urban Poverty Reduction Program that was launched by the Government of Djibouti and is co-financed by other donors including the Agence Française de Développement, African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank “The overall program is part of a broader effort to help respond to one of Djibouti’s key development challenges which is to find ways of making growth more equitable and responsive to the needs of the poor,” said Emmanuel Mbi, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. “We are very pleased that we were able to work together with other development partners to support the program and ensure its effective targeting of the most vulnerable urban communities,” he added Urban poverty in Djibouti is very high, with about 70% of the population of the capital city living below the official poverty line. Using World Bank resources, the project aims at increasing access to basic economic and social infrastructure and to community development opportunities within Quartier 7, the largest and one of the poorest neighborhoods in the capital city. Planned activities include: (a) rehabilitation of key access roads and drainages, upgrading of sanitation systems, construction of community facilities and provision of public spaces; (b) support to community development services and capacity building of community associations, non governmental organizations and local authorities in order to improve environmental management, literacy levels, and employment opportunities.. “We worked closely with the government and our development partners during the design phase to ensure complementarity of our expertise and resources,” said Anthony Bigio World Bank Task Team Leader. “Another key feature of the project will be to engage targeted communities in the implementation process and develop local capacity required to ensure its sustainability,” he added. The project is in line with the Djibouti Country Assistance Strategy (2005-2008),which aims to accelerate the development of human resources through social programs aimed at reducing poverty and gender disparities and in particular to reduce unemployment through the development of labor-intensive activities, micro-finance provision and job training. For additional information on the World Bank Program in the Middle East and North Africa Region, please visit www.worldbank.org/mna |
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