Investing in Poor People and Empowering Them to Participate in Development

© Lianqin Wang/World Bank

Investments in education, health, and gender equality are critical to attaining the Millennium Development Goals. These investments help empower people to participate in decisions about development projects that affect their lives and the lives of their families. Working with civil society organizations can also help empower people to have an impact on the local delivery of education and health services. The Bank is the world leader in investing in people's empowerment. (See http://www.developmentgoals.org/.)

FOCUSING ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Nearly half the people of the world today are under 25 years old. Ninety percent of these young people live in developing countries. The Bank is the world's largest lender for education and health, the two sectors most directly related to the well-being of children and youth. The Bank has contributed significantly to addressing the issues of poverty, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, social protection, and social development, all of which affect the lives of young people. In September 2004 the Bank held the second Youth, Development, and Peace conference in Sarajevo, co-organized with the European Youth Forum and the World Organization of the Scout Movement, which together represent more than 20 million young people and 28 million scouts. Participants gathered to discuss how to better collaborate on issues important to young people, and agreed to establish an informal network of dialogue and regular interaction.

SUPPORTING EDUCATION

The Bank assists countries working toward meeting the goal of universal primary education through the Education for All Initiative. It also supports the development of the higher-level skills that are essential to economic growth and competitiveness.

In fiscal 2005 IBRD lent $356 million for pre-primary and primary education and $492 million for secondary, vocational, and tertiary education. IDA provided $297 million in support of pre-primary and primary education and $294 million in support of pre-primary, secondary, and tertiary education. This funding helped, for example, to expand coverage of early childhood education in the Arab Republic of Egypt, particularly for poor families and girls; to strengthen rural education in the Kyrgyz Republic; and to improve the quality of basic education and access by poor and disadvantaged children in Nepal.

Globally, the Fast-Track Initiative (FTI) is the key instrument for donor cooperation and support for Education for All. As of June 30, 2005, more than $900 million in official development assistance had been mobilized worldwide in support of primary education in the initial 12 countries in the Fast-Track partnership; and $350 million of this was mobilized in 2005. Two new funds were launched in fiscal 2005. The Catalytic Fund, with pledges of $290 million through 2007, provides transitional funding to countries with FTI-endorsed programs. The Education Program Development Fund, with $6 million committed to date, helps countries with sector program development and capacity building in preparation for FTI endorsement. Significant financing gaps must be filled to ensure sustainable flows to countries already participating in the FTI as well as the many other countries expected to do so over the next few years. (See www.worldbank.org/education.)

ACHIEVING GENDER EQUALITY

Both research and experience show that helping women and men become equal partners in development—with equal voice and equal access to resources—accelerates economic growth.

In fiscal 2005 Bank staff conducted economic and sector work on the effects of gender-based barriers to development. Through innovative research in such areas as public expenditure, pensions, and land reform, the Bank is building practical knowledge that can help countries address gender issues.

Bank-funded projects increasingly incorporate qualitative and quantitative gender analysis in their design, particularly in the health, education, and social protection sectors. Governance, labor, judicial reform, and trade projects are also beginning to address gender issues. The Bank-administered Trust Fund for Gender Mainstreaming, financed by the Dutch and Norwegian governments, continues to support innovative projects, including such cross-regional projects as Incorporating Gender Issues into Parliament, and Mainstreaming Women with Disabilities through Community Health Care.

During fiscal 2005 the Bank held its first workshop on gender-based violence. It also monitored and evaluated its progress in promoting gender equality. The publication Improving Women's Lives: World Bank Actions Since Beijing reviews the Bank's contributions toward improving women's access to resources, reducing gender disparities in rights, and strengthening women's voice and empowerment. It renews the Bank's commitment to the 1995 Beijing Platform of Action and the MDGs. (See www.worldbank.org/gender.)

REDUCING CHILD MORTALITY

Each year 10.4 million children die before they reach age five; of these, 4 million die in their first month of life and more than 3 million babies are stillborn. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths occur in the poorest countries. Child mortality has dropped rapidly in the past 25 years, but progress everywhere slowed in the 1990s, and a few countries experienced increases. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has contributed to these increases in some countries, especially in Africa (see “Africa” in “Regional Perspectives”).

At current rates of progress, and without a substantial reduction in neonatal mortality, only a few countries are likely to achieve the MDG of reducing child mortality to one-third the 1990 level by 2015.

Bank lending for child health has steadily increased. In fiscal 2005, total lending was $174.4 million, and $129 million was provided for projects in South Asia and Africa alone. The Bank continues its analytic work and has intensified its policy dialogue with countries to make child health a priority, improve service delivery, strengthen health systems (to accelerate progress on scaling up the implementation of cost-effective interventions for maximum impact on poor people), strengthen private and public partnerships, and improve linkages among the various health care sectors. (See http://www.developmentgoals.org/.)

IMPROVING MATERNAL HEALTH

Maternal mortality is an important measure of women's health and is an indicator of the performance of health care systems. Globally, modest progress has been made in the proportion of births assisted by a skilled health care worker, with an annual increase of 1.7 percent between 1989 and 1999. But each year more than 500,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes. Access to skilled care, especially for poor people, remains a major obstacle.

The Bank has made reducing maternal mortality one of its priorities. It provided $191.6 million in fiscal 2005 to improve maternal and reproductive health, and provided $160 million to South Asia and several African countries, where the majority of maternal deaths occur. In addition to increasing financial support, the Bank has intensified its efforts to improve health systems and health financing in order to address human resources issues and facilitate capacity building in program management and service delivery. Bank support in other areas, such as infrastructure, girls' education, and gender equality, will accelerate progress in reducing maternal mortality in the long run. The Bank is also forging strategic partnerships to build political commitment for equitable access to maternal health services. (See http://www.developmentgoals.org/.)

FIGHTING COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

HIV/AIDS  With 40 million people infected with HIV and more than 15 million AIDS orphans worldwide, HIV/AIDS continues to negate the development efforts of many countries, particularly in Africa. In all, the Bank has committed more than $2.5 billion to fighting HIV/AIDS in 67 countries. It provides support for expanding prevention, care, treatment, and advisory services available to countries and promotes leadership through its global partnerships, especially as a cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Tuberculosis  Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is spreading, particularly in the Europe and Central Asia region. The disease is the most common opportunistic infection associated with HIV, increasing the number of people with tuberculosis in many countries in Africa. The Bank supports effective tuberculosis control through the Stop TB Partnership and through program financing in several of the 22 countries with high incidence of the disease. Efforts have been particularly successful in China and India. Cumulative Bank commitments to tuberculosis control since 1991 total more than $600 million in more than 30 countries.

Malaria  Every year more than 500 million people contract malaria, and 1.1 million die from the disease. Within the Roll Back Malaria Partnership framework, the Bank collaborates closely with countries, partner agencies, and civil society organizations, and has been a key contributor to malaria control successes in Brazil, Eritrea, and Vietnam. But in many parts of the world, the burden of the disease remains very high, and drug-resistant forms of the parasite are spreading. Recognizing that progress has been too slow and uneven, the Bank launched a new malaria booster program in April 2005, marking Africa Malaria Day. The aim is to bring malaria under control faster and on a large scale. The booster program will combine country leadership, Bank resources, and cofinancing from multiple partners with technically sound interventions for prevention and treatment. (See http://www.developmentgoals.org/.)

ENGAGING WITH CIVIL SOCIETY

This year the Bank continued to work with civil society on a variety of activities, ranging from policy consultations on the Bank's extractive industry review to funding civil society efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention in thousands of African communities. Civil society participation in poverty reduction strategies and consultation on Country Assistance Strategies increased, and civil society organizations were involved in 72 percent of new Bank commitments.

The Bank carried out research on and supported programs by civil society organizations to strengthen the provision of public services and improve governance through citizen oversight and participatory budgeting initiatives at the local level. It is supporting thousands of civil society organizations managing community development, environmental protection, and postconflict reconstruction initiatives in nearly 100 countries. The Bank's work with civil society over the past few years is described in a new report, World Bank–Civil Society Engagement: Review of Fiscal Years 2002–2004.

In fiscal 2005 the Board of Executive Directors discussed the paper “Issues and Options for Improving Engagement between the World Bank and Civil Society Organizations,” which outlines 4 key challenges and proposes 10 action items to improve the quality of the Bank's engagement with civil society. In April 2005 the Civil Society Global Policy Forum brought together almost 200 civil society leaders, government officials, donor agency representatives, and Bank managers from 50 countries to discuss ways to improve engagement between the Bank and civil society at the global level. The Bank also held global conferences with various civil society constituencies, including youth, labor unions, and people with disabilities. (See www.worldbank.org/civilsociety.)