World Bank Document

IDA and Africa: Partnering for Development

Published by the North American Affairs team, Sans Poverty highlights World Bank projects, policies and programs. We aim to make it a concise, interesting and informative to read. We welcome your comments. Please email us at [email protected] or [email protected].

LIBERIA'S PRESIDENT AFFIRMS STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH BANK, URGES WOMEN TO STRIVE FOR LEADERSHIP

March 28, 2006— During her recent visit to the United States, and World Bank Headquarters in Washington, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, hailed the strong partnership Liberia enjoys with the World Bank, Public Disclosure Authorized outlined some benchmarks for Liberia’s development goals, and urged women to strive for higher levels of responsibility and leadership.

President Johnson-Sirleaf met with World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who pledged the Bank’s support for resolving the issue of Liberia’s debt to the Bank, and continued support for pre-arrears President Johnson-Sirleaf welcomed by clearance. President Wolfowitz | Photo:© World Bank “We are very pleased with the strong support which we are receiving from the Bank and President Wolfowitz,” she said.

“The Bank is already a very strong partner with Liberia and is helping us in some of our Public Disclosure Authorized infrastructure work and the review of some of the concession agreement that will lead to better management of our own resources. We hope they will now be able to help us develop a strategy to achieve our development goals,” said President Sirleaf-Johnson.

GHANA AT 50 CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE

KUMASI, GHANA, March 6, 2007 – An estimated 1,200 people gathered at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana’s second biggest city, on Monday March 5, 2007, eve of Ghana’s 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration.

Public Disclosure Authorized Addressing the gathering, which consisted of students, faculty, CSOs, private sector, media, and government and local government officials, World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz said in his keynote message that Ghana’s good record of recent years should be no cause for complacency. Photo:© Philip Jespersen / World Bank

Mr. Wolfowitz noted that “just as China and Korea managed to defeat Oriental fatalism and become

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economic role models, Ghana too has the potential to sprint ahead on the path to higher standard of development.” He asked Ghanaian leaders to scale up action on private sector competitiveness, infrastructure, and on ensuring sustained good governance.

THE WORLD BANK IN AFRICA

Reforms and a more peaceful environment have translated into expanded economic activities across the African continent. Yet,

- more than 314 million Africans live on less than $1 a day—nearly twice as many as in 1981.

- the continent is home to 34 of the world's 48 poorest countries and 24 of the 32 countries ranked lowest in human development in 2006.

- the HIV/AIDS pandemic costs Africa 1 percentage point of per capita growth a year, while malaria kills about 2,800 Africans a day.

The World Bank is the largest provider of development assistance to Africa, and it has increased its support dramatically in the past five years.

International Development Association (IDA) commitments of US$3.9 billion in fiscal 2005 represented an increase of more than 80 percent compared to 2000, and disbursements of US$4 billion, more than double the 2000 figure. Through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (PDF, 37 KB) Africa will also benefit from a total of US$28.9 billion of relief.

The Bank’s strategy is anchored in the Africa Action Plan. The Plan makes specific commitments, such as increased financial support for free primary education in 15 countries and more funding for roads, power, and other infrastructure. It also proposes an expansion of the Bank’s Malaria Booster Program by 150 percent in 17 countries, and foresees an increase of lending support for HIV/AIDS programs in 10 countries, as well as greater investment towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Priorities of the plan include:

- Expanding growth, trade and economic competitiveness - Regional projects and regional integration - Reducing and mitigating violent conflicts - Building capable states and improving governance - Promoting private sector-led growth and job creation.

Visit www.worldbank.org/africa

IDA IN AFRICA

The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. Established in 1960, IDA aims to reduce poverty by providing interest-free loans and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve people’s living conditions.

IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 82 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. It is the single largest source of donor funds for basic social services in the poorest countries.Since its inception, IDA credits and grants have totaled US$161 billion, averaging US$7–9 billion a year in recent years and directing the largest share, about 50 percent, to Africa.

In Ghana, the construction of 8,000 classroom blocks and the publishing of 35 million textbooks raised school attendance and outcomes.

In Sierra Leone, IDA-financed recovery programs helped consolidate the peace and deliver tangible

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dividends to the population.

The top three IDA borrowers in Africa for FY06 were Ehiopia (USD 505 million), Nigeria (USD 422 million) and Congo (DRC) (USD 365 million).

IDA in Tanzania

In March 2007, Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete, spoke to a World Bank reporter about the impact of IDA in his country. President Kikwete talked passionately about the role of IDA in helping Tanzania meet its development goals:

"IDA has been almost everything. [...] No single institution has extended to us as much development assistance as the World Bank has done and IDA, the concessional arm, has been tremendous in terms of giving us their support.

"In many of the major programs that we have undertaken, there has been a significant participation of the World Bank, [including in] the Integrated Road Development Program, in the energy sector, [in] all the major power stations that we developed[...], in the Primary Sector Education Program, and now the Secondary School Education Program. [...] We are continuing to act [together in] the water sector. As I said, [IDA] has been almost everything."

President Kikwete urged for continuing adequate replenishment of IDA: "If IDA is replenished well we are seeing more support, because we still need a lot of support, definitely. We have not reached a point where we can say that we don’t need much support," he said.

IDA in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, 80 percent of the population live in rural areas, 51 percent of the rural population live below the poverty line (versus 16 percent of the urban population) and food crop producers account for 75 percent of the rural poor. Rural development would not just reduce poverty, but has the greatest potential to stimulate growth through agricultural micro-projects.

Between 2000 and 2007, the International In Burkina's Poor Rural Areas, Paving the Way Development Association has contributedUS$66.7 for Decentralization | 2000-2007 World Bank million, including US$39 million distributed to community-level investments. IDA supported the participatory effort to draft the 2004 decentralization law that establishes more than 300 local government bodies-the rural communes. The Association continues to provide the global expertise to implement a large-scale community-driven development program and the technical expertise to help Burkina Faso build new local institutions.

By supporting the Community Based Rural Development Project, IDA helped the government create new municipalities and provided direct funding for community-driven investments.

- 302 rural communes have been established and elections for local officials have been held. Half of Burkina’s villages have established village committees and built local capacity for planning, implementation and monitoring.

- 1,700 community wells have been constructed, providing nearly half a million (450,000) inhabitants with the norm of 20 liters of safe water per person per day.

- 600 literacy centers have been established to allow an average of 30,000 adults per year to achieve literacy by reading and writing in their local languages.

- Advocacy and skills for protecting the environment and improving soil fertility have been emphasized. Among micro-projects: 75,000 'manure sinks' producing an average of around 370,000 tons of organic fertilizer per year; 28,000 hectares of land protected through anti-erosion measures.

- Specialized training has been given to promote income-generating activities such as dry-season irrigated agriculture, fish farming, small-scale livestock and forestry management.

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ASK THE EXPERT - JOHN DONALDSON, AFRICA REGION

Ask the Expert section is your opportunity to pose important questions to a World Bank expert. Each month a different expert will be featured. Selected questions and responses will be published in next month's newsletter.

John Donaldson has been with the World Bank for 13 years, and currently works in the Africa Region, where he provides advice and support for communications and External Affairs activities for the Region. Prior to assuming his current responsibilities, he coordinated the US Outreach program for the World Bank for more than 9 years, during which he was a principal point of contact with the US Congress.

Click on Ask the Expert to submit your questions.

LAST MONTH, YOU ASKED ABOUT: GENDER

Mayra Buvinic, our gender expert, answered.

Question: You recently spoke about gender equality as smart economics at Carleton University in Ottawa. On the basis of simple numbers, this seems to make sense; however, what does "smart economics" through women's empowerment translate into in regions like Africa, where women's health needs and cultural contexts pose additional challenges?

Answer: It is true that in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) gender inequality, including women’s lack of economic empowerment, contributes to a host of negative impacts, including alarming health outcomes for women. The burden of disease for girls and women is higher there than anywhere else: across age groups, they lose 504 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 1,000 population, compared to 304 in South Asia and an average of 260 in all low and middle income countries. In fact, data the World Bank analyzed for the forthcoming Global Monitoring Report show SSA trailing other regions in most indicators of gender equality, despite improvements in other areas.

There are ongoing initiatives to address this, though more is needed. Lately, the total volume of aid for health has increased significantly, in large part through initiatives targeting specific diseases such as AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Not as many new resources are available, meanwhile, for strengthening countries' health delivery systems, which are vital to improving women's health in SSA and elsewhere. The World Bank is focusing much of its financial support for health on strengthening these delivery systems.

As a complement to this ongoing work, the World Bank hopes to improve health and nutritional outcomes further by increasing women's economic power. A new action plan, Gender Equality as Smart Economics, recognizes that when women have access to income, clean water, energy and transport, both their own and their families' health improves. In Kenya, studies indicate that children's height increases by 17% when income is in the mother's hands. In another low-income country, Bangladesh, credit in mothers' hands increased children's height by 13%. And in Brazil, survival probabilities of a child increases by a striking 20% when income is in the hands of the mother instead of the father. This evidence is particularly troubling in the context of SSA where women have very limited access to incomes and resources. In fact, women in SSA receive less than 10% of all credit going to small farmers and 1% of the total credit to the agricultural sector, even though they make up the majority of the agricultural workforce. This inequality is not only unfair, it is also bad economics, contributing to women's and families' appalling health situation in SSA.

Watch the Gender Action Plan video.

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NEWS

Press Release

Obiageli Ezekwesili Appointed As Vice President for the Africa Region

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2007 – World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz announced today the appointment of Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili as Vice President for the Africa Region. Ms. Ezekwesili, a Nigerian national, will join the World Bank from her most recent position as Minister of Education within the Government of Nigeria.

“Oby's unique blend of first-hand experiences, especially in the more challenging and complex areas of energy sector reform and education, position her as the ideal candidate to serve as the Vice President for Africa,” said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. “Oby's life is a testament to her dedication to Africa as is the high degree of respect in which she is held by the international community. Her passion for and commitment to Africa, high degree of integrity and optimism will bring invaluable strengths to our organization.”

She was selected for this position through a competitive international search. Beginning May 1, Ms. Ezekwesili will lead the World Bank's Africa operations, which lend about $4.7 billion a year to the continent.

Press Release

Marwan Muasher Appointed As Senior Vice President, External Affairs

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2007 – The World Bank is pleased to announce that Marwan Muasher, a Jordanian national, has joined as Senior Vice President of External Affairs. Mr. Muasher was most recently a member of the Senate of Jordan, the latest position in a career that has spanned diplomacy, civil society, communications, and development. "Marwan’s extraordinary career positions him as a unique asset in strengthening World Bank relations with donor countries, civil society groups and our multilateral partners" said Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank Group.

Mr. Muasher was selected for this position through a competitive international search.

ABOUT THE WORLD BANK NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS

The World Bank is one of the largest sources of development assistance in the world today. World Bank programs provide developing countries with loans that enable them to improve living conditions, foster economic growth, fight corruption and diseases, and work towards more sustainable development. Owned by 185 member countries, the United States and Canada are two of the organization's largest shareholders. Through the World Bank, the United States and Canada participate in addressing key international development challenges of vital importance to their national and business interests.

The North American Affairs Team works to inform American and Canadian audiences about the World Bank's mission and activities. We work with members of the American and Canadian governments, civil society organizations, academics, young people, and the private sector through briefings, conferences and seminars, day-to-day correspondence, and by sending our experts to the field. For more information about our role in the World Bank, please visit www.worldbank.org/usa and www.worldbank.org/canada

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