 On the streets of Sana’a, Yemen, young Ahmad used to spend his days begging. Since last year, however, when he moved to the Safe Childhood Center— a home for street children under 14—he has had a safe home. Ahmad is now attending elementary school, and school officials say he has grown cheerful and more social.
The Safe Childhood Center is just one of a host of new organizations benefiting from the Social Fund for Development (SFD), a Yemeni development agency established in 1997 with support from the World Bank, bilateral donors and the government of Yemen. In one of the poorest countries in the world, the SFD aims to improve access to basic services such as education and healthcare, and support income generation through micro.nance and access to savings services.
With more than 50 percent of its budget dedicated to education, the SFD is making strides in delivering basic education to even the most remote corners of the country. Primary school enrollment has increased from 61 to 67 percent, and the government has set a goal of universal enrollment by 2015, with a particular focus on the number of girls in school, whose enrollment numbers are far behind those of boys. Initial progress has required an expansion of educational facilities. To meet this demand the SFD built and refurbished 8,790 classrooms.
Promoting access to safe water and health services is also a project priority, accounting for 24 percent of SFD funding: 518 water projects are providing potable water to 1.4 million Yemenis for the first time. New health care projects—focused on involving local communities in managing and maintaining health facilities, and on supporting training for health workers—have served hundreds of thousands of Yemenis.
In addition to jobs created through the expansion of social services, the SFD is creating opportunities through microfinance projects, which in the past five years have extended loans to more than 17,000 borrowers. “The microfinance component is one way the project is working to close the gender gap,” says Yasser El-Gammal, the World Bank’s task team leader for the fund. “Women throughout the country are capitalizing on their skills and becoming entrepreneurs with new access to savings and loan services.” Success of the $90 million project led to a second phase, which increased commitments to $175 million for 2001-2003. With other donors, the World Bank is currently preparing a third phase, estimated at $400 million for 2004-2009.
Updated: November 2003
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