News | Publications | Events & Discussions | Regional News and Projects I Newly Disclosed Documents I Business & Career Opportunities | On the Blogs I Take a Look | Did You Know? * Bank Global Poll Finds Poverty Still Biggest Challenge to Development
* Urban Forum Seeks More Livable, Sustainable Cities
* Call to Intensify Fight against Emerging Viruses
* Bank More Than Doubles Its Investment to Fight Malaria
* Making Agriculture a Development Priority
* Launch of Partnership to Protect Globally Threatened Species
* Books - The Missing Link
* UN Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
* Video Meeting - True Cost of Computers in the Classroom
* Role of Agribusiness in Poverty Reduction
* Partnering is Key for Private Sector Development in a Changing World
* Blog - Financial Crisis Could Provide Mongolia Opportunity for Reform
* MENA Governance News and Notes NEWS Bank Global Poll Finds Poverty Still Biggest Challenge to Development
Improving economic conditions for the world’s poorest people remains both a top priority and the largest development challenge, according to a global poll of 2,500 opinion leaders commissioned by the Bank. The poll, the only one of its size and breadth among multilateral organizations, is a tool for the World Bank Group to assess and improve its work on the ground. Conducted between March and June by The Gallup Organization, the 2008 World Bank Group Global Poll highlights the need to help overcome poverty, which has intensified as a result of the global financial crisis. According to the poll, which surveyed Bank stakeholders in more than 42 developed and developing countries, a majority of respondents rated poverty reduction as the major development challenge of 2008. Growing and strengthening domestic economies ranked second and improving governance third. Overcoming poverty ranked first, even in regions where there has been strong growth over the past few years. Read more...
Urban Forum Seeks More Livable, Sustainable Cities
Policy-makers, development practitioners and non-governmental organizations seeking sustainable solutions on how to manage rapid urbanization meet at the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China, November 3 to 6. While cities have become engines of growth for developing countries and a magnet for people seeking better economic opportunities, one in every three city residents in developing countries now lives in a slum. The highest-incidence of slum-dwellers is in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new UN-Habitat report, “State of the World’s Cities 2008/9: Harmonious Cities.” The Bank plans to gather information and feedback for its new urban strategy, which will offer a new way of looking at cities through an economic as well as an ecological lens. It is pioneering a new approach in East Asia in the ECO2 Cities Model, which incorporates both environmental and energy efficiency considerations into urban design. Read more…
Call to Intensify Fight against Emerging Viruses
Experts at the Sixth International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, welcomed the news that the virus has been brought under control in 50 countries. No new countries were infected from January to September this year, according to a new Bank and United Nations report. However, some experts said the apparent halt in the spread of the virus may be due to luck as much as the global effort to detect, prevent and respond to it. The virus is entrenched and “still circulating” in a number of hotspots, including Indonesia, Pakistan, parts of China, Bangladesh and from time to time in India Thailand, Lao PDR, and Vietnam. Nigeria and Togo both recently experienced outbreaks. A severe global flu epidemic could claim more than 71 million lives and cost the world economy US$3 trillion, estimates a Bank paper, Evaluating the Economic Consequences of Avian Influenza. Read more…
Bank More Than Doubles Its Investment to Fight Malaria
The Bank last month announced a $1.1 billion expansion of its fight against malaria in Africa following the approval of the second phase of the Bank’s flagship program to eradicate the disease: the Booster Program for Malaria Control in Africa. Phase I of the program committed $470 million to 19 countries in three years. The latest WHO Global Malaria Report estimates up to 327 million cases of the disease in 2006, nearly one million of which were fatalities. The vast majority of those deaths were children in Sub-Saharan Africa, making malaria the biggest single killer of Africa’s children. Malaria costs Africa an estimated $12 billion in lost GDP every year. And while some countries in Africa are experiencing 4-5 percent annual economic growth, expansion could be 1.3 percent higher without the burden of malaria. Read more…
Making Agriculture a Development Priority
A Bank report on agriculture published last fall called for faster growth in agriculture and improved productivity in the cultivation of basic food crops as ways to improve food security worldwide. But the 2008 World Development Report (WDR), Agriculture and Development, came out before the global food price hike became acute. The latest issue of Development Outreach magazine revisits the WDR’s key lessons in the context of the current food crisis, and looks at what agriculture can do to solve it. The food crisis has put agriculture and its role in development in the spotlight. The urgency of situation and search for solutions should create the momentum needed for innovative approaches to farming. Read more…
Launch of Partnership to Protect Globally Threatened Species
The Global Environment Facility, together with the Bank and the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced this innovative new partnership to protect globally threatened species at the World Conservation Congress of IUCN in Barcelona, in cooperation with a Belgian NGO. It will include a “Save Your Logo” campaign to attract private sector involvement and build broad public support to sustain biodiversity on this planet. Save Your Logo looks to leverage private sector and multi-stakeholder engagement for dramatically expanded funding for threatened species. The initiative will also target those animals used for branding and in logos of global corporations. The fund will be invested in the long-term sustainability of their natural habitats. Read more…
PUBLICATIONS The Missing Link
High expectations for a quick "peace dividend", a public that does not trust the state, and state-citizen relations severed by years of exclusion are among the most challenging issues national governments, and the international community supporting them, encounter in planning and executing post-conflict recovery programs. These issues are too often neglected by policy makers. Experience has shown the cost of this oversight. Because of their direct relation to long-term stability and governance, dealing with these issues needs to be at the very heart of post-conflict work. This study, subtitled “Fostering Positive Citizen-State Relations in Post-Conflict Environments” applies the public sphere as a framework to deal with the "connective tissue" of state-building and calls for change in current post-conflict assistance policy and practice. Read more…
FOR A FULL LIST of available publications:
http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/ EVENTS AND DISCUSSIONS UN Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
November 6 – Global - In 2001, the UN declared November 6 of each year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. In taking this action, it considered that damage to the environment in times of armed conflict impairs ecosystems and natural resources long after the conflict, often extending beyond the limits of national territories and the present generation. The Assembly also recalled the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which emphasized the necessity of working to protect our common environment. Read more…
Video Meeting - True Cost of Computers in the Classroom
"Total cost of ownership" (TCO) is often underestimated when calculating costs of ICT in education initiatives in developing countries. Estimates of initial costs to purchase equipment to overall costs over time vary widely; typically they lie between 10-25% of total cost. That said, there is a dearth of reliable data, and useful tools, to help guide education decision-makers in their assessments of the true costs of educational technology initiatives. A recent whitepaper from Vital Wave Consulting, "Affordable Computing for Schools in Developing Countries: A Total Cost of Ownership (Model for Education Officials", and accompanying case study of ICT in education initiatives in India, provide further insight and perspective on this important and often controversial issue. Join the Bank’s Education Community of Interest Discussion in collaboration with the e-Development Thematic Group to discuss this issue on Thursday November 6 between11 – 12:30 EST . Read more…
REGIONAL NEWS AND PROJECTS Summary of proposed projects in all regions: October 30 List of Newly Disclosed Documents
AFRICA Development Challenges and Solutions for Mozambique
In addition to meeting with government officials, the Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa Shanta Devarajan devoted a significant portion of his two-day visit to Mozambique on October 20 to 22 to meetings with representatives of Mozambican civil society, including think tanks, academia, media, and members of the private sector. Devarajan launched the two days of dialogue with a lecture attended by more than 100 people and organized by Mozambican think tank AMECON, the Mozambique Association of Economists. “Overcoming Government and Market Failures” was the theme of the lecture, which encompassed commentary on education and health and drew from Bank data and Bank-funded projects in Africa, India, and elsewhere. The lecture also offered solutions on government and market failures in developing economies. Read more…
Diaspora Mobilization Program Takes Off in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is making a turnaround and normalcy has returned to the country after years of turmoil marked by unspeakable atrocities. Six years after democratic elections transferred power to the opposition, democracy is taking root. The government under President Ernest Bai Koroma, with the help of partners including the Bank, is making headway in tackling a myriad of deep-seated challenges. The country has moved up UNDP’s poverty ranking, its doing business score is respectable, and it has the most effective anti-corruption office in West Africa. In September, Koroma dispatched the director of Diaspora affairs, Michel Shoninkeh, to the United States to mobilize the Diaspora to support their country of origin. Shoninkeh’s first stop was Washington, D.C., where he met with Bank officials to sign an agreement with the Bank to support his Sierra Leone’s efforts to engage Diaspora. Read more…
Developing Rwanda’s Energy Sector
The government of Rwanda views modern energy as a critical driver of the country’s national, social, and economic development efforts. For that reason, in collaboration with the Bank, the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), and other partners, the government has embarked on a plan to develop the country’s energy sector through improved planning, monitoring, and allocation of resources. This Sector Wide Approach, or SWAP, signed at a recent ceremony in Kigali, supports a common program of work in which strategy, policy development, planning, implementation, monitoring, review, and capacity-building are carried out as a joint effort through consultation between government, development, and civil society partners. The approach will provide an anchor for potential financiers to engage with the government to help raise funds. Read more…
Approved
GUINEA - Education for All [Additional Financing Grant] - US$10 Million Equivalent to assist the government of Guinea in its efforts to improve the conditions for teaching and learning in it s territory, through expanded access to education, enhanced quality of learning, and strengthened capacity for decentralized management of the sector. Read more…
Press release
For more regional information: http://www.worldbank.org/afr EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC How to protect Mongolia amid the Global Financial Crisis:
The Bank’s chief economist Justin Lin urged Mongolia’s newly formed government to develop a solid institutional base so its economy can avoid falling victim to the ‘resource curse’ and adapt to mineral price downturns. Mongolia’s economy is based around the mining sector and is vulnerable to commodity price fluctuations. Battling declining mineral prices on the international market, high inflation and the global financial crisis this is an opportune time for Mongolia’s economy to be come under the microscope. Lin said expanding export options and increasing boom-time savings can help Mongolia safeguard its economy so that the country’s rich resource wealth, properly managed, will benefit current and future generations. Read more…
Students Visit Resettled Villagers in NT2
Fifteen students and five teachers from the National University of Laos had an opportunity to learn about the Nam Thuen 2 Project (NT2) from last month. The study tour was a learning opportunity for students from three faculties - law, political science and social science and environment -- who visited the NT2 project site and learnt about the project's work with an emphasis on resettlement, compensation and environmental issues. Participants were able to visit some of the new resettlement villages in Nakai district and were able to talk with villagers about their livelihood and feelings on the project and the resettlement process. Read more…
Approved
VIETNAM - Financial Sector Modernization & Information Mgmt System Project - US$60 Million Equivalent to assist the State Bank of Vietnam, the Credit Information Center and the Deposit Insurance of Vietnam to improve the delivery of their main functions in accordance with relevant international standards for the banking sector, through developing a centralized and integrated system of advanced business processes and a modern information technology architecture; and strengthening their institutional capacity in carrying out their operations. Read more…
Press release
For more regional information: http://www.worldbank.org/eap EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Shielding EU 10 from Effects of the Global Financial Crisis
The 10 New Member States of the European Union (EU10) are affected by the ongoing global financial crisis, and growth will be slower this year and next due to weak external demand and tight credit conditions, says the latest World Bank EU10 Regular Economic Report. The report follows the agreement reached between Hungary and the IMF to help Hungary address economic and financial vulnerabilities in the wake of the global economic crisis, with the Bank ready to provide one billion Euros as part of a program supported by the IMF and European Union. According to the report, the international financial crisis intensified since early October and resulted in an acute tightening of interbank markets, bank consolidation and takeovers in developed economies, and a sharp drop in global equity prices. Read more…
Bank Supports Strengthening Public Financial Management in Ukraine
The government of Ukraine and the Bank launched the implementation of the Public Finance Modernization Project for Ukraine recently ratified by the Ukrainian parliament. The Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a US$50 million loan for this project in January. The objective of this project is to strengthen public financial management in Ukraine by improving operational efficiency and transparency. The project will contribute to ensure public resources are used efficiently to address key national priorities and improve public services. Enhancing the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of public financial management is an important element of the institutional modernization plan of the government of Ukraine. Read more…
Bank Welcomes Hungary’s Agreement with the IMF
The Bank welcomed the agreement reached between Hungary and the International Monetary Fund on a policy package to address economic and financial vulnerabilities in the wake of the global economic crisis, and is ready to provide one billion Euros as part of a program supported by the European Union and International Monetary Fund. “As part of the international effort, the World Bank stands ready to do its part to provide financing and help tackle long-term structural problems,” said Shigeo Katsu, Vice President of the Bank for Europe and Central Asia. Read more…
Study Analyzes Barriers to Employment for Roma in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic’s labor market has been performing strongly in recent years, and high labor demand has driven down unemployment to record low levels. Yet, according to a new Bank study, “Czech Republic: Improving Employment Chances of the Roma,” over half of Czech Roma of working age (15-64) are out of the labor force. “At this scale, the joblessness of Roma is an economic challenge and carries substantial unnecessary costs,” argues Orsalia Kalantzopoulos, the Bank’s Director for Central Europe and the Baltic Countries, pointing to the financial costs of welfare benefits and the loss of a productive contribution to the economy of long-term unemployed Roma. The Bank report finds that many Roma living in marginalized localities are jobless often because of a dramatic skills deficit, which affects their chances in the labor market and has led to widespread discouragement in searching for work. Read more…
Approved
ARMENIA - Municipal Water and Wastewater Project [Additional Financing] - US$20 million to support the government of Armenia’s efforts in scaling up activities implemented under the on-going program of water system rehabilitation and improvements, including extension of the ongoing management contract between the Armenia Water and Wastewater Company, the water utility in charge of the project, and an international water supply utility operator. Read more…
Press release
GEORGIA - Second East-West Highway Improvement Project [Additional Financing] - US$20 million to contribute to the gradual reduction of road transport costs and improve ease of transit and safety along the central part of Georgia’s East-West corridor through upgrading a segment of the East-West Highway (E60) from Tbilisi to Rikoti, and to strengthen the capacity of government agencies (particularly the Road Department of the Ministry of Economic Development) to develop and implement a traffic safety program. The additional financing involves no change of the project’s original objectives, design or scope. Read more…
For more regional information: http://www.worldbank.org/eca LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Bank Appoints New Country Director for Brazil
Pamela Cox, the Bank’s Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the appointment of Makhtar Diop as Country Director for Brazil, effective January 1, 2009. Diop, a former Minister of Finance from Senegal, joined the Bank in 2001 as Country Director for Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia in the Africa Region. Upon completion of that assignment he was appointed Sector Director, Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure, in the Latin America and Caribbean Vice Presidency. His most recent assignment was as Director of Strategy and Operations, for Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more…
For more regional information: http://www.worldbank.org/lac MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Bank Study on Tunisia's Global Integration
During the past decade, Tunisia’s growth averaged 5 percent with a capacity to resist external economic threats thanks to the establishment of structural reform and a prudential macroeconomic management. Yet, this performance is insufficient to reduce unemployment, which stands at 14 percent. A growth rate even higher is deemed necessary to achieve the government’s employment objectives. Nonetheless, Tunisia is entering a new phase in its integration process and despite the impressive results achieved so far, important challenges remain. Read more…
For more regional information: http://www.worldbank.org/mena SOUTH ASIA Bank Provides US$130 Million to Help Bangladesh Respond to Food Crisis
Poor families affected by high food prices stand to benefit from a US$130 million Bank credit to Bangladesh. The financing is designed to ease the pressure on the country’s current budget which is staggering from expansion of food-related spending including social protection programs. The Food Crisis Development Support Credit Project is part of the Bank’s fast-track Global Food Response Program (GFRP). According to a Bank projection the food price shock has increased Bangladesh’s poverty rate by around 3 percentage points. It also found that nearly 8 percent of the surveyed households pulled their children out of schools to get jobs to assist their families cope with the crisis and many poor households have cut their food intake. Read more…
Efficient Resource Allocation Key to Stronger Growth
Continued growth in Bangladesh has put a pressure on certain key resources – electricity, finance, land, and skilled labor – which are essential for private sector growth. The micro, small and medium firms are particularly constrained by poor allocation of resources, despite their significant potentials for productivity gains, employment growth, and poverty reduction. The report “Bangladesh Second Investment Climate Assessment (ICA): Harnessing Competitiveness for Stronger Inclusive Growth”, evaluates the constraints faced by the private sector and assesses the competitiveness of firms in Bangladesh. The report jointly launched by the Board of Investment, the Bank, BICF / SEDF, and DFID discusses how a more enabling business environment would promote stronger and faster economic development. Read more…
Approved
BANGLADESH - Siddhirganj Peaking Power Project - US$350 million to finance the construction of a 300 megawatt, gas turbine power plant at Siddhirganj, an existing power generation site to the southeast of Dhaka. It will also finance a 60 km natural gas pipeline from Bakhrabad to Siddhirganj that will improve the reliability of gas supply to the Siddhirganj power plant, and an 11 km electricity transmission line so that power from the plant can be distributed to consumers. Read more…
Press release
For more regional information: http://www.worldbank.org/sar BUSINESS AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Role of Agribusiness in Poverty Reduction
Agribusiness is a strategic priority because of the sector’s potential for broad development impact and especially strong role in poverty reduction. In low income countries, the agricultural sector often accounts for half or more of the GDP and 60-80 percent of total employment. High food prices gave a new urgency to the development of the sector. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) stepped up its support, investing over US$1.4 billion along the agribusiness value chain, to boost production, increase liquidity in supply chains, improve logistics and distribution, and increase access to credit for small farmers. IFC is looking to increase its agribusiness investments by 20% in FY09. More than 40 percent of IFC’s agribusiness projects were in low income countries. Investments in Africa reached $116 million. Read more…
For a full list of open positions and scholarships
http://www.worldbank.org/jobs ON THE BLOGS Financial Crisis Could Provide Mongolia Opportunity for Reform
David Dollar notes on the East Asia and Pacific blog that “Mongolia is in many ways a typical developing country, depending heavily on resource-based exports -- in this case, copper and other minerals. The copper price has boomed in recent years, which has helped Mongolia grow faster and expand public programs. Yet the end of the global boom means the end of the commodity boom. Within a short time the copper price has dropped from over $8,000 per metric ton to under $4,000 today…. Some see this as a good time to enact fiscal rules that require a larger share of future windfalls be saved. That way, the country can have stable expansion of development programs that are insulated from boom-bust commodity cycles. The challenge for Mongolia is to use the country’s mineral wealth in a way that preserves and enriches the country’s unique natural and cultural heritage.” Join the conversation…
TAKE A LOOK Partnering is Key for Private Sector Development in a Changing World
Donors help the International Finance Corporation (IFC) strengthen its impact in the developing world. They back much of our advisory services and help us develop innovative solutions to support private sector—led growth in emerging economies, and are key partners in defining our responses to global challenges. The current financial crisis has put a strain on resources available for development. Given this, IFC sees an even greater need for strong partnerships and collaboration with our donors. Read more…
DID YOU KNOW? MENA Governance News and Notes
This is a monthly e-mail publication of the Bank’s Middle East and North Africa Vice Presidency. It is intended to keep practitioners, legislators, academics, NGOs, members of the donor community and other interested parties informed about important developments in the field of governance and public management throughout the MENA region. Each issue will focus upon a particular reform topic and include case studies, policy notes, summaries of recent analytic work and interviews with key decision-makers. The newsletter will also have information on upcoming events, websites and publications that will be of interest to those working on governance reform in MENA and beyond. Read more…
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