AT A GLANCE: In recent years there has been increasing international interest in strengthening donor engagement and response to challenges facing fragile and conflict-affected countries. Over the past four years, the Bank has considerably scaled up its capacity to respond to challenges in situations of fragility and conflict through a set of policy and institutional reforms, increased presence and training, and initiatives to strengthen external partnerships. In addition, the inclusion of fragility and conflict in the Bank’s strategic directions has deepened the penetration of the agenda throughout the World Bank Group. Why Fragile States? The Bank’s definition of fragile states and situations is based on a Country Policy and Institutional Assessment(CPIA) rating of 3.2 or lower, as well as the presence of UN or regional peace-building, or peace mediation operations. Fragile states face particularly severe development challenges such as weak institutional capacity, poor governance, political instability and often, ongoing violence or the legacy of past conflict, with potential spill-over effects on neighboring countries. Fragile states are least likely to achieve the Millennium Development Goals as they have 50% higher prevalence of malnutrition, 20% higher child mortality, and 18% lower primary completion rates than the average low income country. Conflict further exacerbates the poverty trap since risk of renewed conflict in post-conflict countries is high—an estimated 40 percent of post-conflict countries relapse into conflict within 10 years. Post-Conflict Financing: The Bank has significantly enhanced its capacity to provide financial support throughout the period of recovery from conflict. Much of this innovation has taken place within the IDA context and includes, pre-arrears clearance grants from IDA, special post-conflict IDA allocations, support from IBRD surplus, and grant financing from the newly established State- and Peace-building Fund (SPF). The maximum duration of the special IDA post-conflict allocation has recently been extended from 7 to 10 years. The SPF is a multi-donor trust fund with an annual Bank commitment of $33 million. Its purpose is to address the needs of state and local governance and peace-building in fragile and conflict-prone and conflict-affected situations. Rapid Response: The new emergency response policy, in place since 2007, has proven to be effective in supporting peace-building and stabilization projects and in providing a quick response to post-disaster and post-conflict situations as well as to the food crisis. Almost 50 projects have been processed under the new policy so far with a total amount of over $1 billion. Processing times have been reduced significantly, with half the projects approved within less than 5 months. Overall in FY08, the Bank and IFC together committed $3 billion to fragile and post-conflict countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Kosovo, Timor-Leste, Togo, Papua New Guinea, West Bank and Gaza and the Solomon Islands. Partnerships: The Bank continues to foster strong partnerships with UN agencies, the UN Peace-Building Commission, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and its Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC), other multilateral development banks and bilateral donors to address the need for integrated approaches to support peace-building and state-building goals in the most fragile and conflict-affected countries. Concrete actions to improve country-level coordination have been taken. A significant step forward has been the discussions with 12 UN agencies to agree on a UN-WB Fiduciary Principles Accord that will speed up significantly our joint response to crises and emergencies. It is slated for signature later this year. A Joint Declaration on Post-Crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning was signed with the EC and UN in September 2008. The Bank also continues to participate actively in the OECD/DAC Fragile States Group. Research, Knowledge and Learning: To catalyze innovation, enhance operational effectiveness and ensure that it remains an intellectual leader in this area, the World Bank launched a program of research, knowledge and learning. This program aims to improve our understanding of structural and country-specific factors that contribute to institutional and governance fragility, and to strengthen consensus on approaches to fragility and conflict. It is grounded in the work of renowned academics and practitioners both within and outside the Bank. The focus of the research, knowledge and learning agenda is on five key strategic elements in fragile, conflict-affected and post-conflict situations, namely (i) state building, (ii) deteriorating governance, (iii) inclusive growth, (iv) global and regional dimensions, and (v) operational approaches. - ### - Media Contact:
Cosma Gatere, (202) 458-7170
cgatere@worldbank.org Updated September 2008 |
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